Alterations in plasma amino acid levels in alcoholic chronic pancreatitis in Japanese.
OBJECTIVE
Our aim was to investigate plasma amino acid levels in chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients and examine their relationship with exocrine insufficiency.


METHODS
Thirty-nine patients with alcoholic CP and 20 healthy controls were examined. CP patients were divided into an exocrine normal group (n = 28) and an exocrine insufficiency group (n = 11). Selected clinical and laboratory values were compared among the three groups, and the effect of an elemental diet was observed in 6 patients of the exocrine insufficiency group.


RESULTS
Total amino acid concentration was significantly higher in the control group than in the exocrine normal group and exocrine insufficiency group (p = 0.032, p = 0.020). In the exocrine insufficiency group, significant reductions in the concentrations of serum histidine and methionine were found compared with the control group and exocrine normal group (histidine: p = 0.032, p = 0.045; methionine: p = 0.043, p = 0.049). In the exocrine normal group and exocrine insufficiency group, significant elevation in the concentration of serum glutamate was found compared with the control group (p = 0.036, p = 0.029). Elemental diet improved these amino acid concentrations.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients with CP exhibit alterations in the levels of several amino acids, such as histidine, methionine, and glutamate. These amino acid deficiencies seem to correlate with exocrine insufficiency and be improved by an elemental diet.
Department of Gastroenterology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Japan. y711kawa@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp
Yoshiaki
Y
Kawaguchi
Masami
M
Ogawa
Hiroyuki
H
Ito
Tetsuya
T
Mine
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000097:blood* / Q000172:deficiency; D044466:Asian People; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D010188:Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000178:diet therapy; D005260:Female; D005526:Food, Formulated; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency; D006639:Histidine / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008715:Methionine / Q000097:blood / Q000172:deficiency; D008875:Middle Aged; D019512:Pancreatitis, Alcoholic / Q000097:blood*; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000032:analysis
D000596:Amino Acids; D012709:Serum Albumin; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D006639:Histidine; D008715:Methionine