Studies on Phospholipase A in Pancreatitis

Part 2. Significance of Phospholipase A in Serum

Abstract

Serum phospholipase A (PLA) activities were determined by means of modified thin layer chromatographic method.
Serum PLA values in normal subjects showed a normal distribution pattern, which was similar for men and women. In patients with acute pancreatitis, although both serum PLA and amylase activity tended to decrease in parallel with improvement of the disease, the serum PLA activity, compared with the serum amylase activity, reflected more closely the severity of the abdominal pain. Attacks of abdominal pain accompanied by marked elevation of serum PLA activity were seen occasionally in patients with chronic non-calcified pancreatitis, but elevation of the serum PLA value was only slight to moderate in the majority of patients with this disease.
The serum PLA level was correlated significantly with the amylase activity in patients suffering from pancreatitis. In the patients with acute pancreatitis, the severity of abdominal pain showed a significant positive correlation with both serum PLA and serum amylase values. On the other hand, though serum PLA activity was correlated with abdominal pain in patients with chronic non-calcified pancreatitis, the serum amylase level was not significantly correlated with the attack of abdominal pain.
The above results suggest' that pancreatic PLA activity can he used as an important pathophysiological index of pancreatitis.