ENTEROHEPATIC CIRCULATION IN MAN OF A GAMMA-EMITTING BILE-ACID CONJUGATE, 23-SELENA-25-HOMOTAUROCHOLIC ACID (SEHCAT)

  • 1 January 1982
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 23  (2) , 126-130
Abstract
A conjugated bile acid, 23-selena-25-homotaurocholic acid (SeHCAT), labeled with the .gamma.- emitter 75Se, was evaluated in man. Absorption and excretion were compared with that of simultaneously administered [23-14C]cholic acid. SeHCAT is absorbed quantitatively following oral administration, secreted into the bile at the same rate as cholic acid, reabsorbed from the small intestine and resecreted. It is not absorbed when the terminal ileum has been excised or bypassed. SeHCAT is the 1st of a new class of radiopharmaceuticals, .gamma.-emitting tracers of the complete cycle of the enterohepatic circulation. Its use should simplify investigation of the functional state of the terminal ileum by eliminating the need to collect and process feces.