Biliary lipid metabolism in children with chronic intrahepatic cholestasis.

Biliary lipid composition, standard liver function tests, serum lipids and faecal fat excretion were studied in 15 children with chronic intrahepatic cholestasis (severe intrahepatic cholestasis, n = 6; paucity of intralobular bile ducts, n = 4; benign recurrent cholestasis, n = 5) and compared to 15 children without gastrointestinal diseases. Severe and benign intrahepatic cholestasis were associated with normal or moderately elevated serum lipids. Biliary lipid concentrations were extremely reduced, bile acid concentrations were below the critical micellar concentration. This may account for the high incidence of gallstone formation in these patients. Remission periods in patients with benign recurrent cholestasis were not followed by complete normalisation of biliary lipid concentrations, indicating a primary defect in hepatic excretory function. Children with paucity of intralobular bile ducts showed markedly increased serum lipids, but only a two-fold reduction in biliary lipid concentrations. Cholic acid was the predominant bile acid in bile of all cholestatic children even during remission. Neither increased levels of monohydroxy bile acids nor unusual bile acids could be identified in notable amounts.