Impaired gallbladder mucosal function in aged gallstone patients suppresses gallstone recurrence after successful extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy.

Background: Absorption of water, as well as emptying of bile, are important functions of the gallbladder. We studied the changes of gallbladder function with age in gallstone patients and their influence on the outcome of extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy (ESWL).

Methods: (i) A total of 123 consecutive patients with complete stone clearance by ESWL were examined.

Less hydrophobic phosphatidylcholine species simplify biliary vesicle morphology, but induce bile metastability with a broad spectrum of crystal forms.

Cholesterol crystallization in bile is affected by phosphatidylcholine (PtdCho) hydrophobicity. The aim of the present study was to determine whether PtdCho species modulate the metastable-labile limit and equilibrium solubility of cholesterol in the micellar phase of bile, thereby altering the distribution of cholesterol to biliary lipid carriers and thus influencing cholesterol crystallization. Supersaturated model bile (with a cholesterol saturation index of 2.