Dietetic therapy of obesity. Preliminary considerations on the combined therapy with ursodeoxycholic acid in the prevention of cholesterol lithiasis

The use of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) was found useful in reducing the incidence of cholelithiasis (p < 0.05) without provoking any other alteration in hepatic function. This preliminary experience underlines the appropriateness of carrying out further studies on the utility of preventive treatment for the formation of cholesterol calculi with biliary acids, and in particular UDCA, in obese subjects who are receiving dietary treatment. The protective action of ursodeoxycholic acid in the prevention of biliary lithiasis during the course of low-calorie diets was evaluated in 40 obese subjects (31 females, 9 males) treated for 4 months with fibre-rich (approximately 40 g/day) low-calorie diets of 900-1200 Kcal, of whom 20 received 450-750 mg of UDCA/day and 20 were treated with placebo.