A drug of value in the treatment of the PRURITUS, or itching, which occurs in association with JAUNDICE. It does this by ‘binding’ the bile salts in the gut and so preventing their being reabsorbed into the bloodstream, where their excess in jaundice is responsible for the itching. It reduces the level of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood and thereby, like CLOFIBRATE and STATINS, helping to reduce the incidence of coronary artery heart disease. (See HEART, DISEASES OF; HYPERLIPIDAEMIA.)