Elastase
and Eva Rudolf-Müller, doctorEva Rudolf-Müller is a freelance writer in the medical team. She studied human medicine and newspaper sciences and has repeatedly worked in both areas - as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, and as a medical journalist for various specialist journals. She is currently working in online journalism, where a wide range of medicine is offered to everyone.
More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.Elastase is a digestive enzyme that is produced by the pancreas and released into the small intestine. Your reading provides information about the production of digestive enzymes in the pancreas. Read here what exactly elastase is all about, which normal values apply and which diseases change the values!
What is the elastase?
Elastase (also known as pancreatic elastase) is a pancreatic-specific enzyme. This means that it is made exclusively in the pancreas, in what are known as the acinar cells. The pancreas releases pancreatic elastase as an inactivated enzyme into the small intestine. There it is activated by certain substances and can do its job - breaking down food components, more precisely amino acids (building blocks of proteins).
When is elastase determined?
The doctor determines the elastase in the stool if he suspects exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. This is a dysfunction of the part of the pancreas that produces digestive enzymes such as pancreatic elastase. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is suspected when someone has symptoms such as:
- nausea
- Vomit
- Weight loss
- Diarrhea
- Fatty stool (steatorrhea)
Elastase: normal values
|
Type of sample
|
Normal value |
|
chair |
> 200 µg / g |
|
Blood serum |
<3.5 mg / ml |
|
Secretion from the pancreas |
0.16 to 0.45 g / l |
When is the elastase low?
If the elastase level in the stool is between 100 and 200 micrograms per gram (µg / g), one speaks of a slight to moderate weakness of the pancreas (pancreatic insufficiency). Values below 100 µg / g stool already indicate a serious dysfunction. This can be found, for example, in the context of the following diseases:
- Pancreatic cancer
- Chronic inflammation of the pancreas (chronic pancreatitis)
- Pancreatic cysts
- Narrowing of the duct of the pancreas
Other diseases with decreased stool elastase are cystic fibrosis (cystic fibrosis) and hemochromatosis (iron storage disease).
When is the elastase increased?
In the case of acute inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), the pancreatic elastase increasingly passes into the blood. Therefore, in such cases, the doctor measures elevated values. This also applies to a sudden flare-up of chronic pancreatitis. In addition, pancreatic elastase can increase in severe kidney and liver diseases.
What to do if the elastase values change?
If not already done, the doctor will determine other laboratory values in addition to the elastase (blood count, C-reactive protein, pancreatic lipase and amylase). An ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs is also useful. Depending on the cause of the changed elastase values, the doctor finally initiates suitable treatment.
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