Gallstone is the most common disease in the biliary system, and the incidence is increasing gradually. Furthermore, the composition of stones in Korea seems to be changed to approach that of stones formed in the west. Factors responsible for this
change
may include rapidly proceeding urbanization and changing food habits. The method of medical therapies for gallstones is also increasing and results in a number of clinical studies for pathogenesis of gallstones such as stasis, supersaturation,
and
crystal formation of bile juice.
We studied for 40 subjects, healthy controls were 20 (11 male, 9 female : mean age, 44.45 years, mean body mass index, 24.07), and gallstone patients were 20 (11 male, 9 female : mean age, 54.7 years, mean body mass index, 22.78). The gallbladder
volumes were measured by real time ultrasonography using the ellipsoidal method. And then, we calculated ejection fraction (EF) by these results. The results were expressed as mean ±standard deviation, and difference in the mean values of each
group
were evaluated by the Student's t-test. Statistical significance was assigned if P was <0.05.
There was no significant difference between gallstone patients and healthy controls in age. body mass index, and biochemical laboratories. Both fasting gallbladder volume and ejection fraction were not different between obese and non-obese group.
However, ejection fraction in gallstone patients was significantly lower than normal controls in obese group. Ejection fraction(EF,%) was significantly greater in controls than gallstone patients. No significant differences were observed in
fasting
gallbladder volumes between gallstone patients and healthy controls, but gallbladder volume after fatty meal was significantly larger in gallstone patients than control subjects. Fasting gallbladder volumes were significantly reduced after fatty
meal in
both groups.
The gallbladder motility may play a role on gallstone formation, and the estimation of its motility may be an important factor in determining the response to medical therapy.(Korean J Gastroenterol 1994 ; 26 ; 143-150)
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