title: Investigation of fecal pancreatic elastase-1 levels in type 2 diabetic patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Due to the close anatomical position between the endocrine system cells and the exocrine system cells in the pancreas, some interactions could be expected in these two different types of cells. This possible exocrine dysfunction may cause difficulties in the management of blood glucose level because of secondary malabsorption which may have resulted from the exocrine dysfunction. Taking this possibility into account, we aimed to investigate the exocrine function of the pancreas in 32 diabetic patients and in 12 healthy control subjects in this study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fecal pancreatic elastase-1 (PE1), which has a high sensitivity and specificity, was measured in serum samples by ELISA specifically for this purpose.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that the exocrine function declined in 28% of type 2 diabetic patients, while there was no decrease in the control subjects. However, there were no significant correlations between pancreatic elastase levels and the duration of diabetes, glycemic control, or consumption of alcohol.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings suggest that evaluation of the exocrine function in diabetic patients might be useful for better management of diabetic patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Medical School, Uludağ University, 16059 Bursa, Turkey.
authors.forename: Arzu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yilmaztepe
authors.forename: Engin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ulukaya
authors.forename: Canan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ersoy
authors.forename: Meryem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: H Asuman
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Tokullugil
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000201:enzymology*; D005243:Feces / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010179:Pancreas / Q000378:metabolism*; D010196:Pancreatic Elastase / Q000378:metabolism*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010196:Pancreatic Elastase