What does amylase do in the body?

Clinically, amylase mainly plays a certain role in common cirrhosis, hepatitis, liver cancer, and acute or chronic cholecystitis, and can achieve good therapeutic effects on liver and gallbladder diseases. Because it is an ingredient and cannot be compared with other drugs, this product may be mixed with many drugs. There are related insights and distinctions, including that some people have such elements in their bodies, so it will have some effects on the human body.

Clinical significance

Increase

It is seen in pancreatic duct obstruction caused by pancreatic tumors, pancreatic abscess, pancreatic injury, intestinal obstruction, gastric ulcer perforation, mumps, peritonitis, biliary tract disease, acute appendicitis, cholecystitis, peptic ulcer perforation, renal failure or renal insufficiency, salpingitis, traumatic shock, after major surgery, pneumonia, lung cancer, acute alcohol poisoning, after morphine injection, as well as oral contraceptives, sulfonamides, thiazide diuretics, and opioids (codeine, morphine). Anesthetic analgesics, etc.

reduce

It is seen in cirrhosis, hepatitis, liver cancer, acute or chronic cholecystitis, etc.

Pancreatic amylase is excreted into the digestive tract by the pancreas in an active state. It is the most important enzyme for hydrolyzing carbohydrates. Like the amylase secreted by the salivary glands, it belongs to α-amylase. It acts on α-1,4 glycosidic bonds and has no effect on α-1,6 glycosidic bonds on branches. Therefore, it is also called endostarch enzyme. The optimal pH for its action is 6.9. It can be filtered through the glomeruli and is the only plasma enzyme that can appear in the urine under normal circumstances.

Amylase activity has been found in extracts from other human tissues such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes, lungs, testicles, semen, and breasts; amylase is also found in blood, urine, and milk. Amylase in blood mainly comes from the pancreas and salivary glands, while amylase in urine comes from the blood.

When serum amylase isoenzymes were measured, two major isoenzyme bands and several minor bands were found. One of the two main bands is in the same position as the pancreatic extract or secretion electrophoresis, so it is named P-isozyme; the other is in the same position as the salivary gland extract or saliva electrophoresis, so it is named S-isozyme. Determination of amylase isoenzymes is helpful in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic diseases.

Reference value: Limited substrate method:

Serum amylase 220U/L (37℃)

Urine amylase 1200U/L (37℃)

P isoenzyme serum 115U/L

Urine 800 U/L

The serum amylase level of newborns is about 18% of that of adults, mainly S-type, and reaches the adult level by the age of 5 years; serum P-type amylase cannot be detected within one year old, and then slowly increases, reaching the adult level at the age of 10 to 15 years.

Serum amylase and urine amylase measurements are the most commonly used laboratory diagnostic methods for pancreatic diseases. When suffering from pancreatic diseases or pancreatic exocrine dysfunction, their activities can increase or decrease, which is helpful for the diagnosis of pancreatic diseases. Urine amylase levels fluctuate greatly, so it is better to test it with serum amylase, or measure both at the same time. Changes in amylase activity can also be seen in certain non-pancreatic diseases, so the determination of amylase isoenzymes has its differential diagnostic significance when necessary.

Elevated serum amylase

It is most commonly seen in acute pancreatitis and is one of the important diagnostic indicators of acute pancreatitis. Its activity begins to increase 6 to 12 hours after onset, reaches a peak at 24 hours, begins to decline at 48 hours, and returns to normal after 3 to 5 days. Although the degree of increase in amylase activity is not necessarily related to the degree of pancreatic damage, the greater the degree of increase, the greater the possibility of acute pancreatitis. Therefore, although amylase is still used as the preferred indicator for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis, its specificity and sensitivity are not high enough. When acute pancreatitis is suspected, the patient's serum and urine amylase activities should be continuously monitored dynamically. The diagnosis can also be made by combining clinical conditions and other tests, such as pancreatic lipase and trypsin.

Amylase determination is also valuable for monitoring complications of acute pancreatitis such as pancreatic pseudocysts and pancreatic abscesses, in which case blood amylase activity often continues to increase. Severe acute pancreatitis can cause pleural effusion and/or peritoneal effusion, and the amylase activity in the effusion can even be more than 100 times higher than the serum amylase activity.