We have shown previously that ox and pig bile accelerate in vitro growth of Giardia lamblia. We have now investigated the possible mechanisms by which mammalian biles promote parasite growth. Growth effects of (a) ox, pig, guinea pig, and human biles, (b) pure bile salts, and (c) egg and soybean lecithins were studied in the presence of a lecithin-containing growth medium. Individually, dilute ...

Bile acid homeostasis is tightly maintained through interactions between the liver, intestine, and kidney. During cholestasis, the liver is incapable of properly clearing bile acids from the circulation, and alternative excretory pathways are utilized. In obstructive cholestasis, urinary elimination is often increased, and this pathway is further enhanced after bile duct ligation in mice that a...

Physiological factors affecting the flow and composition of bile may be divided into two general categories. First, the availability of bile salts (by hepatic synthesis and by reabsorption from the bowel) has a significant influence on the rate of bile production. The choleretic effect of natural bile salts and the phenomenon of enterohepatic circulation of these compounds were first demonstrat...

The classical functions of bile acids include acting as detergents to facilitate the digestion and absorption of nutrients in the gut. In addition, bile acids also act as signaling molecules to regulate glucose homeostasis, lipid metabolism and energy expenditure. The signaling potential of bile acids in compartments such as the systemic circulation is regulated in part by an efficient enterohe...

OBJECTIVE Plastic biliary stents used to relieve obstructive jaundice are frequently blocked by sediment, resulting in loss of drainage. We prepared stents coated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and compared their ability to resist sedimentation with Teflon stents in a beagle model of obstructive jaundice. METHODS AgNP-coated Teflon biliary stents were prepared by chemical oxidation-reducti...

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an autosomal recessive abnormality of the beta-globin chain of hemoglobin (Hb), resulting in poorly deformable sickled cells that cause microvascular occlusion and hemolytic anemia. The spleen is almost always affected by SCD, with microinfarcts within the first 36 months of life resulting in splenic atrophy. Acute liver disorders causing right-sided abdominal pain ...

Ancient concepts of the blood were described by Hippocrates and Galen 2000 years ago in their doctrine of “humors.” It was believed that the body was made up of four humors – blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile – and that these four componentshadthequalitiesofheat(“hot-blooded!”),cold, moist, and dry. The Galenic concept of the blood prevailed through the Middle Ages. Health or disease w...

Background: It has been reported that several species of Helicobacter colonize the biliary tract of animals and human, but their participation in hepatobiliary diseases are not established. This study is undertaken to determine if Helicobacter genus members, especially with regard to H. pylori, could be detected in the bile and gallbladder diseases. Methods: Thirty-eight gallbladder tissues and...

There is now an established understanding that sweat, and perspiration in general, function as an important regulator of body temperature. This understanding has displaced the earlier view of humoral pathology, that sweating is a means of excreting excess or ill-mixed humours. Its role in regulating heat loss could not be clearly discerned until the measurement of heat loss by evaporation in th...