Serum Iso-amylases

Abstract

Paper electro-phoresis was performed on the sera of 178 normal subjects and 53 patients with pancreatic disorders, and the amylase activity of the major protein fractions determined. Amylase activity was present in all fractions but mainly in the albumin gamma globulin fractions. The amylase which migrates with the mobility of gamma globulin is apparently derived from the pancreas and is markedly elevated in acute pancreatitis, less so in pancreatic cancer and is unchanged in patients with chronic pancreatitis. Except in patients with acute pancreatitis the sum of the amylase activity of the individual protein fractions is usually three to four times greater than the activity of the whole serum. In patients with acute pancreatitis the sum of fractional activity is of the same order as the amylase activity of the whole serum. This difference may be due to the presence of an amylase inhibitor which is present normally but reduced in patients with pancreatic inflammation.