Gallstones and Gallbladder Disease - Prevention

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Highlights	Prevention	Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy
Introduction	Diagnosis	Other Procedures
Symptoms	Treatment	Resources
Prognosis and Complications	Surgery	References
Risk Factors	Open or Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration (Choledocholithotomy)

Preventing Gallstones during Weight Loss

Maintaining a normal weight and avoiding rapid weight loss are the keys to reducing the risk of gallstones. Taking the medication ursodiol (also called ursodeoxycholic acid, or Actigall) during weight loss may reduce the risk for people who are very overweight and need to lose weight quickly. This medication is ordinarily used to dissolve existing gallstones. Orlistat (Xenical), a drug for treating obesity, may protect against gallstone formation during weight loss. The drug appears to reduce bile acids and other components involved in gallstone production.

The Effects of Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs

Although it would be reasonable to believe that drugs used to lower cholesterol would protect against gallstones, most evidence has found no gallstone protection from these drugs. Reducing blood cholesterol levels does not have any effect on cholesterol gallstones.

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Review Date: 06/10/2010
Reviewed By: Reviewed by: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).