| 摘要 |
<p>A method is described for the replacement of bile acid in the biliary tract during conditions of bile acid deficiency which comprises administering an effective amount of a synthetic bile acid comprising the reaction product of a natural bile acid and an N-alkyl amino acid. A critical element of the invention is the presence of the N-methyl amino acid as the conjugating moiety for the synthetic bile acid. Such does not occur in nature, and is a key factor in the ability of the compounds of this invention to be efficacious in the treatment method of the invention. Also described is a bile acid replacement composition which comprises the reaction product of a natural bile acid and an N-alkyl amino acid. The N-alkyl amino acid is an N-alkyl glycine, more preferably N-methyl glycine; the natural bile acid is cholic acid; and in the exemplified embodiment the compound is the N-acyl reaction product of N-methyl glycine and cholic acid, i.e., cholylsarcosine. Potential clinical uses of the compounds of this invention as natural bile acid replacements include use when natural bile acid secretion into the small intestine is decreased or when normally secreted bile acids are deconjugated by bacterial overgrowth.</p> |
