Cholesterol bile acid sequestrants

Since bile acids are made from endogenous cholesterol, the enterohepatic circulation of bile acids may be disrupted as a way to lower cholesterol. Bile acid sequestrants bind bile acids in the gut, preventing their re-absorption. In so doing, more endogenous cholesterol is directed to the production of bile acids, thereby lowering cholesterol levels. The sequestered bile acids are excreted in the faeces. 

Bile Acid Sequestrants. The bile acid binding resins, colestipol [26658424] and cholestyramine, ate also effective in controlling semm cholesterol levels (150). Cholestyramine, a polymer having mol wt > ICf, is an anion-exchange resin. It is not absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, is not affected by digestive enzymes, and is taken orally after being suspended in water (151). 

Cliolestyramine (Questran) and colestipol (Colestid) are examples of bile acid sequestrants. Bile, which is manufactured and secreted by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, emulsifies fat and lipids as these products pass through the intestine Once emulsified, fats and lipids are readily absorbed in the intestine These drug bind to bile acids to form an insoluble substance that cannot be absorbed by the intestine, so it is secreted in the feces. With increased loss of bile acids, the liver uses cholesterol to manufacture more bile This is followed by a decrease in cholesterol levels. 

The bile acid sequestrants are used as adjunctive therapy for the reduction of elevated serum cholesterol in patients with hypercholesterolemia who do not have an... 

As discussed above, obesity is associated with dyslipidemia, a condition where high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is common. Elevated LDL-C is strongly associated with an elevated risk of coronary artery disease and for this reason a number of lipid-lowering therapies that target LDL-C have been developed. These include bile-acid sequestrants (BAS), statins (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors), cholesterol absorption inhibitors, and fibrates. ... 

Mechanism of Action A lipid-bile acid sequestrant and nonsystemic polymer that binds with bile acids in the intestines, preventing their reabsorption and removing them from the body Therapeutic Effect Decreases LDL cholesterol. Pharmacokinetics Not absorbed. Primarily eliminated in feces. 

Bile salts secreted into the intestine are efficiently reabsorbed (greater than 95 percent) and reused. The mixture of primary and secondary bile acids and bile salts is absorbed primarily in the ileum. They are actively transported from the intestinal mucosal cells into the portal blood, and are efficiently removed by the liver parenchymal cells. [Note Bile acids are hydrophobic and require a carrier in the portal blood. Albumin carries them in a noncovalent complex, just as it transports fatty acids in blood (see p. 179).] The liver converts both primary and secondary bile acids into bile salts by conjugation with glycine or taurine, and secretes them into the bile. The continuous process of secretion of bile salts into the bile, their passage through the duodenum where some are converted to bile acids, and their subsequent return to the liver as a mixture of bile acids and salts is termed the enterohepatic circulation (see Figure 18.11). Between 15 and 30 g of bile salts are secreted from the liver into the duodenum each day, yet only about 0.5 g is lost daily in the feces. Approximately 0.5 g per day is synthesized from cholesterol in the liver to replace the lost bile acids. Bile acid sequestrants, such as cholestyramine,2 bind bile acids in the gut, prevent their reabsorption, and so promote their excretion. They are used in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia because the removal of bile acids relieves the inhibition on bile acid synthesis in the liver, thereby diverting additional cholesterol into that pathway. [Note Dietary fiber also binds bile acids and increases their excretion.]... 

Vahouny, G.V., Tombes, R., Cassidy, M.M., Kritchevsky, D., and Gallo, L.L. 1980. Dietary fibers. V. Binding of bile salts, phospholipids and cholesterol from mixed micelles by bile acid sequestrants and dietary fibers. Lipids 15, 1012-1018. 

Prior to 1987, the lipid-lowering armamentarium was limited essentially to dietary changes (reductions in saturated fats and cholesterol), the bile acid sequestrants (cholestyramine and colestipol), nicotinic acid (niacin), the fibrates, and probucol. Unfortunately, all of these treatments have limited efficacy or tolerability or both. Substantial reductions in LDL cholesterol (up to 47%) accompanied by increases in HDL cholesterol of up to 32% could be achieved by the combination of a lipid-lowering diet, a bile acid sequestrant, and the subsequent addition of nicotinic acid (Illingworth et al., 1981). However, this therapy is not easy to administer or tolerate and was therefore often unsuc-... 

It is well established that HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors and bile acid sequestrants can be used together safely, with a greater reduction in LDL cholesterol than is obtainable when either drug is used alone. Unfortunately, bile acid sequestrants are often poorly tolerated, which limits the usefulness of this combination. Relatively low doses of niacin, when used in combination with statins, produce a very attractive effect on the lipoprotein profile (Gardner et al., 1996 Stein et al., 1996) the ability of niacin to substantially increase HDL cholesterol is additive, with the profound reduction in LDL cholesterol produced by the statin, and there is also a moderate reduction in triglycerides. However,... 

Receptor numbers have been increased by the administration of cholestyramine or colestipol, bile acid sequestrants that diminish the bile acid pool, force the liver to convert more cholesterol into bile acids (Dll), lower the intracellular cholesterol in hepatic cells, and thus increase the number of hepatic B-100,E receptors (K25, S27). 

Bile acid sequestrates are anion-exchange resins, which sequester bile acid in the intestine. Cholestyramine and colestipol are the most commonly used in this category, which by this mechanism prevents bile acid re-absorption and causes decreased absorption of exogenous cholesterol and increased metabolism of endogenous cholesterol into bile acid in the liver by preventing enterohepatic recirculation. This leads to an increased expression of LDL receptors in liver and causes increased removal of LDL from blood and reduces the LDL cholesterol in the plasma. 

An opposite effect is at the basis of the up-regulation of LDL receptors in response to treatments with bile acid sequestrants, intestinal cholesterol absorption inhibitors, and HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors. The first class of drugs inhibits the intestinal reabsorption of bile acids, thus promoting increased conversion of cholesterol to bile acids in the liver. The increased demand for cholesterol results in activation of the SREBP system and upregulation of LDL receptor synthesis (as well as cholesterol synthesis via upregulation of HMG-CoA reductase). Similarly, inhibition of intestinal cholesterol absorption with ezetimibe results in a reduction in the hepatic cholesterol pool... 

The primary goal of therapy is the control of the hypercholesterolemia and prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Patients with heterozygous FH can usually be successfully treated with medications to lower the LDL cholesterol to acceptable levels (Table 14-2). They are generally responsive to treatment with statins, alone or in combination with other drugs, such as bile acid sequestrants (such as cholestyramine) or cholesterol absorption inhibitors (such as ezetimibe) that act additively to upregulate the expression of the functioning LDL receptor as described in the Biochemical Perspectives section. In a few cases, a more aggressive treatment with LDL apheresis (discussed in this section) may have to be considered in order to reach acceptable LDL cholesterol levels. 

Day CE (1990) Comparison of hypocholesterolemic activities of the bile acid sequestrants cholestyramine and cholestipol hydrochloride in cholesterol fed sea quail. Artery 17 281-288... 

Structures of bile acid sequestrants. Cholestyramine and colestipol are hydrophilic yet water-insoluble, nondigestible, and nonabsorbable synthetic resins. They bind bile acids in the intestine to increase their loss in feces and thereby decrease plasma cholesterol levels. 

A combination of bile acid sequestrants with nicotinic acid or probucol or an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor can be used to produce synergistic effects in lowering plasma lipoprotein levels, particularly LDL. The efficacy of drug treatment was shown in a recent study in which lovas-tatin and colestipol were used to reduce cholesterol levels in men with CHD. The rate of progression of coronary lesions was decreased and that of regression increased. These changes also were associated with reduced cardiovascular abnormalities. 

Other dietary interventions or diet supplements may be useful in certain patients with lipid disorders. Increased intake of soluble fiber in the form of oat bran, pectins, certain gums, and psyllium products can result in useful adj unctive reductions in total and LDL cholesterol, but these dietary alterations or supplements should not be substimted for more active forms of treatment. Total daily fiber intake should be about 20 to 30 g/day, with about 25%, or 6 g/day, being soluble fiber. Studies with psyllium seed in doses of 10 to 15 g/day show reductions in total and LDL cholesterol ranging from about 5% to 20% They have little or no effect on HDL cholesterol or triglyceride concentrations. These products also may be useful in managing constipation associated with the bile acid sequestrants. Psyllium binds cholesterol in the gut but also reduces hepatic production and clearance. Fish... 

In addition to the statin drugs which inhibit HMG-CoA reductase a number of other drugs are used to lower cholesterol levels. The first are resins which are also referred to as bile acid sequestrants such as cholestyramine. The resins work by binding to the bile acids followed by excretion of the resin-bile complex. To make up for the loss of the bile acids the body converts cholesterol into bile acids thus reducing the cholesterol levels. 

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