Cholecystolithiasis is a common disease, and gallbladder dysmotility is considered as a pivotal pathogenesis. Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) serve as pacemakers and mediators of neuromuscular transmission for gastrointestinal motility. Reduction of ICCs has been reported in gallstone diseases. However, there are no reasonable mechanisms for the cholecystolithiasis-associated loss of ICCs in...

We have adopted the clinical concept of gallstone hepatitis indicated by marked serum transaminase elevation due to an acute inflammatory liver cell necrosis in the early stages of gallstone impaction in the bile duct as clinical and biochemical criteria for identifying high-risk patients for acute cholangitis or bile duct stones causing symptoms (symptomatic bile duct stones, SBDS). One hundre...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Organic anion transport protein 1B1 (OATP1B1) is a major transporter protein for bile salt uptake in the enterohepatic circulation of bile salts. As the role of SLCO1B1 gene (encodes OATP1B1 or liver specific transporter-1) 388 A>G polymorphism in susceptibility towards gallstone disease is unclear the prevalence of this polymorphism in healthy north Indian population wa...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Cholelithiasis is a common disorder in north-eastern Germany. Analyses of risk factors for gallstone formation in this population may have high explanatory power. Gender-specific risk factors for gallstone formation and their interactions were investigated by using data of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). METHODS Data of 4,202 persons aged 20-79 years ...

This case report illustrates the difficulties in making the clinical diagnosis of gallstone ileus. In addition to an unusual clinical picture, the changes normally expected on abdominal X-ray in gallstone ileus were subtle and missed in our patient. The diagnosis was made using abdominal computerised tomography (CT). We recommend the early use of abdominal CT scanning in the investigation of cl...

We employed quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping in a backcross between gallstone-susceptible SWR/J and gallstone-resistant AKR/J inbred mice to identify additional susceptibility loci for cholesterol gallstone formation. After 12 wk of feeding the mice a lithogenic diet, we phenotyped 330 backcross progeny for gallstones, gallbladder mucin accumulation, liver weight, and body weight. Marker-...

Cholesterol gallstones occur rarely in childhood and adolescence and increase linearly with age in both genders. To explore whether aging per se increases cholesterol saturation of bile and gallstone prevalence, and to investigate age-related changes in hepatic and biliary lipid metabolism, we studied gallstone-susceptible C57L mice and resistant AKR mice of both genders fed 8 weeks with a lith...

A 34-year-old female with a history of advanced pulmonary sarcoidosis and right-sided heart failure presented with chronic, postprandial right upper quadrant pain, and weight loss. Endoscopic biliary drainage was deemed to be the most appropriate therapeutic option for her chronic cholecystitis. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography utilizing the SpyGlass cholangioscopy system allowed ...

A woman, then in her late 20s, underwent a cholecystectomy in 1962 for gallstone disease and subsequent common bile duct stones were managed endoscopically. However, because of unrelenting pain, a pylorus preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy was done in 1990 and in the following years the patient took large amounts of pancreatic enzyme supplements. She developed large bowel obstruction in 1997 an...

Gastric outlet obstruction as a result of gallstone (Bouveret's syndrome) is a rare but serious complication of cholelithiasis. Although patients present with persistent vomiting, colicky epigastric pain and dehydration, the clinical features of the Bouveret's syndrome are not pathognomonic. Due to its rarity, the diagnosis and treatment represent a challenge for the surgeon. In most of the rep...