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Lipid modification - primary and secondary CVD prevention - Management
What is the mechanism of action of bile acid sequestrants?
- Bile acid sequestrants form non-absorbable complexes with bile acids in the gastrointestinal tract and increase their faecal excretion, thereby preventing their reabsorption and removing them from the enterohepatic circulation. Consequently, bile acid sequestrants diminish the ability of bile acids to solubilize dietary lipids and stimulate the liver to convert endogenous cholesterol into bile acids in an attempt to maintain bile acid pool size [Staels and Kuipers, 2007].
- Bile acid sequestrants can be combined with these drugs to provide complementary cholesterol reduction because they do not inhibit cholesterol synthesis like fibrates and statins.
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