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Biomedical subjects

J E Berk

Publications and source records attributed to J E Berk.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Value of pancreatic-type isoamylase assay as an index of pancreatic insufficiency.

The study here reported was undertaken to assess the value of assay of the specific isoamylase form arising from the pancreas (P-type) as an index of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency. Measurements were made of serum total amylase activity, serum P-type isoamylase activity, and the amount of P-type isoamylase relative to creatinine (Upam/Ucr) in the urine in a series of patients with clinically suspected chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic insufficiency as determined from the pancreatic secretory response to secretin stimulation. Abnormally low values for P-type isoamylase in the serum and urine of these patients were infrequent. Conversely, values within the normal ranges for serum P-type isoamylase and Upam/Ucr were common. It is concluded that while subnormal values for P-type isoamylase in the serum and urine may be viewed as supportive evidence for pancreatic insufficiency, failure to find such values does not exclude this condition.

Creatinine↗
PubMed1979

Cimetidine in the treatment of acute alcoholic pancreatitis. A randomized, double-blind study.

A double-blind study was made of the comparative effectiveness of cimetidine in the treatment of acute alcoholic pancreatitis. The study group was composed of 27 patients with acute episodes of alcoholic pancreatitis of mild to moderate severity. The patients were randomized into 2 groups, either receiving cimetidine, 300 mg four times daily or a placebo. Both groups were given intravenous fluids and meperidine hydrochloride (Demerol) as needed. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups as measured by a variety of clinical and laboratory parameters. The mean value of the daily serum amylase in the placebo group declined steadily to normal; hyperamylasemia in this group persisted for 52 +/- 11 hr (mean +/- SE). By contrast, serum amylase in the cimetidine group peaked at 24 hr after the start of treatment and remained abnormal slightly longer; the duration of hyperamylasemia in the group was 69 +/- 10 hr. It is concluded that: (1) cimetidine is not superior to a placebo in the management of mild to moderately severe acute alcoholic pancreatitis and (2) serum amylase activity in patients with acute alcoholic pancreatitis given cimetidine tends to be greater and hyperamylasemia is of somewhat longer duration than in those treated with a placebo.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1978

Macroamylasemia.

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Amylases↗
PubMed1978

New dimensions in the laboratory diagnosis of pancreatic disease.

The laboratory diagnosis of pancreatic disease has been made more precise by certain modifications in older methods and by the introduction of a variety of new technical procedures. The principal human isoamylases may now be distinguished and their activities in serum and urine measured. A test has been devised which helps indicate the presence of acute pancreatitis by showing relatively increased excretion of amylase in the urine as compared with creatinine. The ratio of amylase to creatinine in the urine appears to be a good index of relative hyperamylasuria. A screening test for pancreatic-type hyperamylasuria has been formulated that allows increased urinary excretion of this isoamylase to be identified. These additions and developments have sharpened the interpretation of hyperamylasemia and hyperamylasuria and have added new dimensions to the laboratory diagnosis of pancreatic disease.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1977

Tumor-associated hyperamylasemia.

Studies were made in eight patients with hyperamylasemia associated with cancer of the lung, pancreas or colon. Isoamylase analysis, conducted in seven of the eight patients revealed that the dominant isoamylase component was S-type in three and P-type in three; in one patient both isoamylases were elevated about equally. Examination of the serum or urine of the same seven patients for subcomponent isoamylase disclosed the presence in two of the seven of an unusual isoamylase designated "Y-type". This subcomponent isoamylase was also found in some samples of human milk, but not in normal persons or in patients with a variety of disorders other than cancer. The significance of hyperamylasemia occurring in association with cancers, the factors responsible for the variability in isoamylase pattern in those with hyperamylasemia, and the relationship, if any, of the "Y" isoamylase form to cellular growth and replication are all presently obscure and remain to be elucidated.

Amylases↗
PubMed1977

Isoamylase analysis.

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Glycoside Hydrolases↗
PubMed1977

Assay of amylase and isoamylase activities in serum and urine. Modifications in methods and range of normal values.

Certain modifications are described in assay methods previously reported from this laboratory for total amylase and isoamylase activities. These modifications provided more consistent results and achieve superior separation of pancreatic and salivary type (P- and S-type) isoamylases. The estimated range of values in the serum and urine of normal subjects using the modified assay procedures is presented for total amylase as well as for P- and S-type isoamylases.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

The diagnostic value of serum lysozyme activity in inflammatory bowel disease.

Serum lysozyme (muramidase) activity was determined by the Lyso-Plate diffusion technic in 419 subjects consisting of normal persons and patients with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, nonspecific diarrhea and various other disorders. Lysozyme activity in the normal subjects did not exceed 37.8 microgram/ml. The values in the several groups of patients overlapped markedly with each other and with the normal range. Approximately two-thirds (62.1%) of the 37 patients with Crohn's disease had values that were within the normal range. In about half (51.8%) of the patients with this disease in whom the process was clinically active, serum lysozyme activity was increased. Of 10 patients with Crohn's disease who had undergone resection, heightened serum lysozyme activity was found only in the three patients in whom there was clinical evidence of recurrence of the disease. It is concluded that serum lysozyme activity is not a dependable means of distinguishing Crohn's disease from ulcerative colitis or nonspecific diarrheas. The determination would appear to be of value, however, in helping to identify activity, recurrence, or extension of the disease in patients with Crohn's disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Unusual isomaylase in cancer-associated hyperamylasemia.

Hyperamylasemia and hyperamylasuria were found in two patients with carcinoma of the pancreas and in two other patients with carcinoma of the lung. Detailed isoamylase analyses were conducted on the serum amylase of three and the urine amylase of all four of these patients, using a modified chromatographic procedure. The studies demonstrated the existence, in one of the lung cancer patients and in one of the patients with pancreatic cancer, of an unusual component of amylase given the designation "Y." This component had also been noted in some human milk samples. In one of the lung cancer patients, an isoamylase was found in the serum and urine after radiation treatment that was close to but not identical to the Y isoamylase in chromatographic position. Although a relationship of isoamylase component Y to generating tissue is suggested by these findings, such a relationship of isoamylase component Y to generating tissue is suggested by these findings, such a relationship remains to be proven.

Amylases↗
PubMed1976

Nonpancreatic-type hyperamylasemia associated with pancreatic cancer.

Isoamylase analysis of the serum and urine of a patient with anaplastic spindel cell carcinoma of the pancreas revealed that virtually all of the serum amylase and almost all of the urine amylase behaved chromatographically as the salivary (S) type. Both the serum and urine amylases were bound by a substance derived from a macroamylase complex which had been shown to bind only salivary amylase and to lack any affinity for pancreatitis (P) type amylase. The ratio of amylase to creatinine clearance was markedly increased (12.5%) without evidence of acute pancreatitis at autopsy and despite the presence of only a minute amount of P-type isoamylase in the serum.

Amylases↗
PubMed1976

Hyperamylasemia in heroin addicts. Characterization by isoamylase analysis.

Hyperamylasemia was noted in 17 (19%) of a group of 91 hospitalized heroin addicts. Thirteen of the 17 were in acute respiratory distress (12 with so-called "heroin lung" syndrome and one with status asthmaticus). Isoamylase analysis in the hyperamylasemic patients demonstrated S-type isoamylase dominance in 15, P-type isoamylase dominance in one and essentially equivalent P- and S-type isoamylase elevations in one. It would appear from these data that the hyperamylasemia after heroin in most persons addicted to the use of this drug arises from the sources other than the pancreas. Changes in the lungs occurring in association with heroin addiction seem to have an important role among the possible contributory factors.

Adolescent↗