Clinical studies on human pancreatic deoxyribonuclease I

Duodenal juice collected after administration of Boot's pancreozymin and secretin to patients with various pancreatic diseases was subjected to deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) assay, as well as measurements of total volume, amylase output and maximum bicarbonate concentration. It was observed that the DNase I output is well correlated with each of three factors. The DNase I output was much lower in patients with chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer than in control subjects, and DNase I output was even found to be low in patients suspected of having chronic pancreatitis, who did not give abnormal resulsts with other assay methods. These results imply that DNase I output may be a good indicator of exocrine function of the pancreas, and thus may be useful for early detection of pancreatic diseases.