1981 Volume 3 Issue 3 Pages 337-342
Elevation of serum amylase activity has been reported in a variety of conditions without clinical manifestation of pancreatic disease, such as postoperativi state, hypoxemia or head trauma.
We measured serum amylase activity and plasma noradrenaline in 60 patients with acute cerebrovascular disease. The highest value of the serum amylase activity was 6380 S.U./dl (normal range 70 to 220 S.U./dl) in cerebral hemorrhage. The mean serum amylase activity for cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral infarction was 668±51 (SEM) S.U./dl (N=26), 489±83 (SEM) S.U./dl (N=7), and 146±2 (SEM) S.U./dl (N=27), respectively. The mean value for serum amylase activity was significantly higher in cerebral hemorrhage or subarachnoid hemorrhage than in cerebral infarction (p<0.05). The serum levels of amylase activity well reflected the level of consciousness and prognosis. Serum amylase activity reached the highest level within a few days following onset, and then gradually decreased towards a normal level over the next 7 to 9 days. In addition, hyperamylasemia was associated with increased plasma levels of noradrenaline. These findings suggest that in the acute stage of cerebrovascular disease, amylase is released into the circulating blood presumably from the pancreas or the salivary glands associated with the excitement of sympathetic nervous activity.
