Oral cholelitholysis--cheno versus urso: Japanese experience.

The present status of the use of cholelitholytic agents in Japan is presented. Open and double-blind studies of chenodeoxycholic acid and ursodeoxycholic acid are compared with respect to their efficacy and safety. Although the in vitro solubilization of cholesterol with ursodeoxycholic acid seems to be less than with chenodeoxycholic acid, the higher dose of ursodeoxycholic acid which can be used because of the lack of side effects such as diarrhea and elevation of transaminases and a lower lithogenic index of bile obtainable favors ursodeoxycholic acid as an oral cholelitholytic agent at the moment.