[Immunoreactive trypsin in the blood of patients with functional disorders of the adrenal cortex]

Blood serum trypsin was radioimmunoassayed in 46 patients with adrenocortical hyperfunction and in 24 ones with its hypofunction. The findings evidence that excess of endogenous adrenal steroids leads to elevation of radioimmune trypsin (RIT) concentration. The presence of chronic pancreatitis in hypercorticism did not essentially influence the value of the examined parameter, nor did the development of diabetes mellitus. Corticosteroid deficit in the body was not associated with changes in the blood serum RIT concentration. Systematic glucocorticoid therapy resulted in elevation of RIT level. The serum enzyme concentration was also increased in hypoadrenocorticism patients not administered glucocorticoids, suffering from concomitant chronic pancreatitis. Therefore the test was not informative for the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis in the patients with the endogenous hyperadrenocorticism syndrome but may be helpful in the recognition of the condition in the patients with chronic adrenal insufficiency; interpretation of this test results in hypoadrenocorticism patients treated with glucocorticoids should be performed by efficient specialists.