Bile acid sequestrant: Encyclopedia - Bile acid sequestrant

Bile acid sequestrant

In pharmacology, bile acid sequestrants are a group of medications used for binding bile in the gastrointestinal tract, used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and the prevention of pruritus (itch) in patients with chronic liver disease or diarrhea.

Two drugs are members of this class; both are synthetic resins:

• Cholestyramine (Questran®)
• Colestipol (Colestid®)

Use of these agents has decreased markedly since the introduction of statins. They are occasionally used as an adjunctive to statins, as the combination of statins and fibrates is thought to increase the likelihood of developing rhabdomyolysis.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Bile acid sequestrant", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki