Low serum cholic acid concentration of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Serum bile acids of 15 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The serum cholic acid values were unusually low (0.16 +/- 0.13 microM), even less than 0.01 microgram/ml in 4, compared with controls (1.47 +/- 0.17 microM). HDL-cholesterol was within normal limits. The low concentration of serum cholic acid may be causative of abnormal calcium mobilization in DMD. The intracellular calcium mobilization seems to be affected by serum cholic acid as indicated by the enhanced rate of loss of intracellular calcium from the muscle exposed to cholic acid, which acts as a calcium-ionophore and reversibly forms soluble complexes with calcium ions.