Abstract
Extract: Concentrations of free and conjugated bile acids in cord blood (30 samples) were within the adult range and were significantly higher than in serum from newborns (15 infants). Deoxycholic acid (D) was absent from sera of newborns and present in 7 of 23 cord samples. Only two of nine infants in year 1 of life showed detectable amounts of D. In 25 children, ages 1–13 years, bile acid concentrations in serum fell within the normal adult range. Small amounts of unconjugated bile acids were present in some specimens.
Thirty-three children with cystic fibrosis of the pancreas (ages 2–14 years) had serum concentrations within the normal adult range. No correlation with age, sex, or severity of disease was noted.
Thirty-two children with a variety of hepatobiliary disorders had significantly elevated concentrations of bile acids with the exception of a few infants with terminal cirrhosis. Determination of patterns and concentrations of bile acids in serum are of limited usefulness in differential diagnosis of these disorders.
Speculation: The estimation of bile acids in serum will have to be combined with measurement of bile acids in bile and study of excretion of fecal bile acids if evaluation of bile acid metabolism is to provide better understanding of hepatobiliary disease.
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Sandberg, D. Bile Acid Concentrations in Serum during Infancy and Childhood. Pediatr Res 4, 262–267 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197005000-00005
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197005000-00005
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