Where is the lipase produced?
Pancreatic lipase is formed in the so-called exocrine part of the pancreas. This exocrine part consists of special cells, the acinar cells, which release the digestive secretion into the small intestine via an excretory duct system. These cells are present in the entire pancreas and must be separated from the endocrine part. In contrast to the exocrine part, the endocrine part produces hormones such as insulin. In addition to lipase, the acinar cells also produce further digestive enzymes.
What is the lipase level and how is it measured?
The term lipase value describes the concentration of enzyme detected in a substance by the laboratory. For this purpose, blood is usually taken from the affected person by venipuncture. The laboratory then determines the enzyme concentration from this.
Due to the high stability of pancreatic lipase in blood serum, a reliable value can be determined even after up to one week. In rare cases, the concentration of lipase can also be determined from the intestinal contents. A stool sample is usually taken for this purpose.The upper limit for lipase in blood serum is usually about 65 U/l (units/liter).
In healthy people, the concentration should not be lower than 30 U/l. For children, other limits apply. For them, the concentration of pancreatic lipase in blood serum should be between 30 U/l and 40 U/l. Since this value depends strongly on the laboratory method, this value can be subject to large fluctuations. The limit value is also stated differently by each laboratory, so in case of doubt, the limit values given by the laboratory should be relied upon.
What are the possible reasons for increased lipase?
Elevated levels of pancreatic lipase can occur in many diseases. However, since some are rarer, these diseases are initially given less attention when elevated levels are detected. Usually, an increase in the concentration of lipase in blood serum is due to a reduced outflow of lipase into the blood.
Typical diseases in which the limit value is exceeded are acute or chronic pancreatitis (acute or chronic pancreatitis). The measured value can rise within hours to over 75 times the normal value and can be elevated for several days. Together with the value of amylase in the blood serum, this laboratory value achieves a very high specificity.
However, the level of the increase does not allow any statement about the course of the disease. Do you suspect that you might have pancreatitis? You can recognize the clinical picture from these symptoms: In the following diseases, there is also an increase in the lipase value, which is, however, much less pronounced.
The causes of this include, for example, an ulcer of the stomach (ulcus ventriculi) or an ulcer of the duodenum (ulcus duodeni). Furthermore, diseases of the bile ducts can also cause this. This would be, for example, an obstruction of the bile duct by a gallstone.
An inflammation of the gall bladder can also be the cause. The bacterially caused disease typhoid fever must also be considered as a cause. The viral cause can be the disease mumps (mumps). An intestinal obstruction can also lead to a reduced outflow of digestive secretions from the pancreas and thus increase the lipase level in the blood serum.
- Symptoms of pancreatitis
- Lipase increased
