Ursodeoxycholic acid

Ursodeoxycholic acid contains bile acids that dissolve small gallstones in your gallbladder. It also prevents the formation of gallstones and treats other conditions like primary biliary cirrhosis and hepatobiliary disorders. The medicine contains ursodeoxycholic acid, also known as ursodiol, a bile acid. This acid is prescribed to dissolve small gallstones (made of cholesterol), usually in patients who can’t undergo surgery for gallbladder removal.

Ursodeoxycholic acid should be taken as advised by your doctor. It is recommended that you take this medicine with food. Depending on the size of your gallstones, you might be prescribed this medicine for 6-24 months for the complete dissolution of the stones and an additional three months to prevent the formation of new ones.

Side effects of Ursodeoxycholic acid are usually minor and should not be of any concern. Common side effects include stomach pain, diarrhoea, nausea, constipation, lethargy, stuffy nose, headaches and dizziness.

This medicine might be contraindicated (unsafe) for people with severe biliary obstruction (blockage of the common bile duct or cystic duct) and allergies to ursodeoxycholic acid. Always let your doctor know of any health conditions you might have. Generally, this medicine is considered safe for most people.

Ursodeoxycholic acid contains ursodeoxycholic acid (ursodiol), a bile acid that helps dissolve any existing gallstones (gallbladder stones) over several months and prevents the formation of new ones. It is hepatoprotective medication, which is why it treats liver diseases like primary biliary cirrhosis and cystic fibrosis; and improves overall liver function.

Ursodeoxycholic acid is prescribed specifically for the dissolution of cholesterol gallstones smaller than 20mm. Gallstones bigger than 20mm are not easily dissolvable, so surgeries are recommended for symptomatic patients. Ursodeoxycholic acid works best for patients with mild symptoms like upper abdominal pain (after eating fatty food).

Patients with gallstones who experience severe symptoms like sharp pain in the belly (due to obstruction of the biliary ducts), severe nausea and vomiting are advised to have their gallbladder removed. This surgery is called a cholecystectomy. People who can not undergo such operations are given medicines like Ursodeoxycholic acid .

Ursodeoxycholic acid is a medicine containing a bile acid called ursodeoxycholic acid. It works by dissolving gallstones already present in the gallbladder by lowering excess cholesterol levels.

Ursodeoxycholic acid reduces the overall cholesterol levels in the bile that the liver secretes into the gallbladder through long tube-like structures called the bile duct. This reduction in cholesterol passively dissolves the stones made of cholesterol in the gallbladder. Ursodeoxycholic acid helps in breaking down cholesterol lumped together that might form into hard stones. It also prevents the potential obstruction of the bile ducts (the tubes being blocked by the stones).

Ursodeoxycholic acid is derived from cholesterol, and it is one of the many bile acids in the human body. When given orally to patients suffering from liver diseases, it promotes the excretion of toxic concentrations of endogenous hydrophobic bile acids that tend to accumulate in such patients.

In addition to this excretion, Ursodeoxycholic acid also protects cholangiocytes (cells that line the bile duct) against the toxic effects of these hydrophobic bile acids; inhibits apoptosis (cell death) of hepatocytes (liver cells); and stimulates the bile secretion by both hepatocytes and cholangiocytes.

• Ursodeoxycholic Acid (medlineplus.gov)
• Ursodiol : a brief overview (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
• Philip Anderson - Handbook of Clinical Drug