Pancreatic enzymes, also known as pancreases or pancrelipase and pancreatin, are commercial mixtures of amylase, lipase, and protease. They are used to treat malabsorption syndrome due to certain pancreatic problems. These pancreatic problems may be due to cystic fibrosis, surgical removal of the pancreas, long term pancreatitis, or pancreatic cancer, among others. The preparation is taken by mouth.Common side effects include vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation, and diarrhea. Other side effects include perianal irritation and high blood uric acid. The enzymes are from pigs. Use is believed to be safe during pregnancy. The components are digestive enzymes similar to those normally produced by the human pancreas. They help the person digest fats, starches, and proteins.Pancreatic enzymes have been used as medications since at least the 1800s. They are on the World Health Organizations List of Essential Medicines. In 2017, it was the 275th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than one million prescriptions. Medical use
Pancrelipases are generally a first line approach in treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and other digestive disorders, accompanying cystic fibrosis, complicating surgical pancreatectomy, or resulting from chronic pancreatitis. The formulations are generally hard capsules filled with gastro-resistant granules. Pancrelipases and pancreatins are similar, except pancrelipases has an increased lipase component.Pancreatin is a mixture of several digestive enzymes produced by the exocrine cells of the pancreas. It is composed of amylase, lipase and protease. This mixture is used to treat conditions in which pancreatic secretions are deficient, such as surgical pancreatectomy, pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis.
Physicians, therefore use a combination of indirect and direct criteria in assessing GHD, including:
Auxologic criteria (defined by body measurements)
Indirect hormonal criteria (IGF levels from a single blood sample)
Direct hormonal criteria (measurement of GH in multiple blood samples to determine secretory patterns or responses to provocative testing), in particular:
Subnormal frequency and amplitude of GH secretory peaks when sampled over several hours
Subnormal GH secretion in response to at least two provocative stimuli
Increased IGF1 levels after a few days of GH treatment
Response to GH treatment
Corroborative evidence of pituitary dysfunction"Provocative tests" involve giving a dose of an agent that will normally provoke a pituitary to release a burst of growth hormone. An intravenous line is established, the agent is given, and small amounts of blood are drawn at 15-minute intervals over the next hour to determine if a rise of GH was provoked. Agents which have been used clinically to stimulate and assess GH secretion are arginine, levodopa, clonidine, epinephrine and propranolol, glucagon, and insulin. An insulin tolerance test has been shown to be reproducible, age-independent, and able to distinguish between GHD and normal adults, and so is the test of choice.