It has been demonstrated that the pancreozymin-secretin test (p-s test) is one of the most reliable method for the diagnosis of the chronic pancreatic diseases. The clinical significance of other factors except maximum bicarbonate concentration, especially that of the amylase output is not well established.
It is demonstrated that pancreozymin which is used in the p-s test promotes the synthesis and secretion of enzymes in the pancreas cells. Therefore, an attempt was made to evaluate the enzyme synthetic and secretory activity of pancreas by use of
75Se-Selenomethionine 2 hours before the p-s test, and clinical significance of amylase output was further investigated.
The p-s test was performed on 38 patients who were injected with 6μCi of isotope per kg body weight and 11 patients who were received 0.5μCi per kg for scintiscanning of the pancreas. The same experiments were also made on rats.
As the result, the radioactivity in the pancreatic juice was proved to be correlated well with the amylase output.
The specific radioactivity of the protein isolated from the pancreatic juice showed normal value in the patients with normal amylase output, but was low in more than half of the patients with decreased amylase output. The same results were obtained in both groups injected with 6μCi and 0.5μCi per kg of
75Se-Selenomethionine.
This new method has proved advantageous over the p-s test hitherto used in diagnosing the enzyme secretory disorder as cited below.
1) This method is very simple and reliable method as the test of exocrine function of the pancreas.
2) This has made it possible to evalute the enzyme synthetic and secretory mechanism in the pancreas cells.
3) It is conceivable that even a decrease in only one of the factors for the p-s test hitherto performed, namely, a decrease of the amylase output, represents abnormal excretory function of the pancreas.
So it seems that this method makes it possible to diagnose the decrease of pancreatic function from the view point of synthetic activity of pancreatic enzyme.
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