[Clinical experience with a new method for the determination of monoglyceride lipase (author's transl)]

The activity of monoglyceride lipase was studied in plasma from 74 patients with liver disease in whom blood was drawn 10 min after the injection of heparin (10 U/kg body weight). The results were compared with the activities from 29 healthy volunteers. For measurement a new, easy to handle method was used. The patients showed significantly lower activities, e.g. in chronic aggressive hepatitis there was a decrease by 87%. There was no correlation between the activities of monoglyceride lipase and pseudocholinesterase which also can be decreased in liver disease. The results show that the determination of monoglyceride lipase appears to be a useful test of the liver's function. Its value probably lies in the evaluation of the vessels.