1. Johanning JM, Gruenberg JC. The changing face of cholecystectomy. Am Surg. 1998; 64:643–647.

2. Al-Azzawi HH, Nakeeb A, Saxena R, Maluccio MA, Pitt HA. Cholecystosteatosis: an explanation for increased cholecystectomy rates. J Gastrointest Surg. 2007; 11:835–842.

3. Tsai CJ, Leitzmann MF, Willett WC, Giovannucci EL. Central adiposity, regional fat distribution, and the risk of cholecystectomy in women. Gut. 2006; 55:708–714.

4. Pou KM, Massaro JM, Hoffmann U, et al. Visceral and sub-cutaneous adipose tissue volumes are cross-sectionally related to markers of inflammation and oxidative stress: The Framingham Heart Study. Circulation. 2007; 116:1234–1241.

5. You T, Nicklas BJ. Chronic inflammation: role of adipose tissue and modulation by weight loss. Curr Diabetes Rev. 2006; 2:29–37.

6. Hotamisligil GS, Shargill NS, Spiegelman BM. Adipose expression of tumor necrosis factor-α: direct role in obe-sity-linked insulin resistance. Science. 1993; 259:87–91.

7. Gilloteaux J, Tomasello LM, Elgison DA. Lipid deposits and lipo-mucosomes in human cholecystitis and epithelial meta-plasia in chronic cholecystitis. Ultrastruct Pathol. 2003; 27:313–321.

8. Hendel HW, H⊘ jgaard L, Andersen T, et al. Fasting gall bladder volume and lithogenicity in relation to glucose toler-ance, total and intraabdominal fat masses in obese non-diabetic subjects. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1998; 22:294–302.

9. Ruhl CE, Everhart JE. Association of diabetes, serum insulin, and C-peptide with gallbladder disease. Hepatology. 2000; 31:299–303.

10. Goldblatt MI, Swartz-Basile DA, Al-Azzawi HH, Tran KQ, Nakeeb A, Pitt HA. Nonalcoholic Fatty gallbladder disease: the influence of diet in lean and obese mice. J Gastrointest Surg. 2006; 10:193–201.

11. Goldblatt MI, Swartz-Basile DA, Svatek CL, et al. Decreased gallbladder response in leptin-deficient obese mice. J Gastrointest Surg. 2002; 6:438–444.

12. Tran KQ, Goldblatt MI, Swartz-Basile DA, Svatek C, Nakeeb A, Pitt HA. Diabetes and hyperlipidemia correlate with gallbladder contractility in leptin-related murine obesity. J Gastrointest Surg. 2003; 7:857–863.

13. Mathur A, Walker JJ, Al-Azzawi HH, et al. Ezetimibe ameli-orates cholecystosteatosis. Surgery. 2007; 142:228–233.

14. Finzi L, Barbu V, Burgel PR, et al. MUC5AC, a gel-forming mucin accumulating in gallstone disease, is overproduced via an epidermal growth factor receptor pathway in the human gallbladder. Am J Pathol. 2006; 169:2031–2041.

15. Wang HH, Afdhal NH, Gendler SJ, Wang DQ. Evidence that gallbladder epithelial mucin enhances cholesterol cholelitho-genesis in MUC1 transgenic mice. Gastroenterology. 2006; 131:210–222.