Other Ophthalmic Surgery Organ Transplantation Orthopaedics Other Osteoarthritis Osteoporosis Otitis Otorhino. Cleared for marketing by the FDA for this purpose, Actigall is the first medication indicated for the prevention of gallstones in these patients. It has been used to dissolve certain types of gallstones in appropriately selected patients since 1988. Actigall was developed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation . With this medication, obese people losing weight quickly may avoid the sometimes painful symptoms caused by gallstones and the surgery that may be needed to remove them.
Gallstones are one of the most significant complications of voluntary rapid weight loss.
For most people, gallstones are asymptomatic or silent and can be safely left alone. While it is unclear what percentage of people with silent gallstones will develop symptomatic gallstones, they can be very painful and can lead to a variety of potentially serious symptoms and problems. According to the National Institutes of Health, gallstones from all causes result in 600,000 hospitalizations and more than 500,000 operations each year. Additionally, gallstones may form with other types of rapid weight loss programs. How Actigall Works Gallstones are clusters of solid material, mostly cholesterol, that form in the gallbladder.