A study of pericardial fluid enzymes activities after death and their correlation with post-mortem interval.

The estimation of time since death at the time of autopsy has been and remains to be one of the challenges to the Forensic Pathologist. .A prospective study was undertaken in SMS Hospital, Jaipur on activity of Pericardial Fluid enzymes after death in deceased. A total of 50 study cases were randomly selected after screening. The pericardial fluid was examined biochemically for enzyme activity of Amylase, Creatine Kinase (CK), Gamma-glutamyl Transferase (GGT) and Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) enzymes by photoelectric colorimetry method. The enzyme activity levels so obtained were charted and statistically studied and graphical records obtained against known post-mortem interval. The data thus obtained was analysed with a view to ascertain whether such assays could be of any help to estimate time since death routinely. In this study we observed a positive correlation of all the four enzymes with the time elapsed after death of which rise in CK was found to be statistically significant.

Is serum sialic acid a marker of alcohol abuse.

A comparative study of serum sialic acid concentration and traditional biochemical markers such as serum gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), and AST/ALT ratio, as well as prognostic markers such as serum total protein and serum albumin in alcohol abuse was done. A total of 70 male subjects aged between 20 and 60 years, with 40 cases diagnosed as alcoholics, and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. Serum GGT, AST, ALT, total protein and serum albumin were estimated using auto analyzer Dade Behring clinical chemistry system. Serum sialic acid was estimated manually by modified Warren's colourimetric method. An increased concentration of serum sialic acid and other traditional biochemical markers GGT, AST, ALT was observed in cases compared to that of controls. Overall, GGT demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity. The other traditional markers used in alcohol abuse varied considerably in their specificities and sensitivities. The AST/ALT ratio was increased in cases compared to controls, but not high enough to confirm alcoholic liver disease. The albumin concentration in cases was decreased when compared to controls, while total protein concentration did not show any statistical significance in both the groups indicating that it has negligible effect. In this study, sialic acid proved to be a reliable test with sensitivity of 70% and specificity of 90%, with a diagnostic accuracy of 80%, showing that it can be used as a biochemical marker in alcohol abuse, where secondary effects of liver disease hamper the use of traditional markers.

Diagnostic usefulness of serum gamma-glutamyl transferase ( GGT ) activity in fatty liver and relationship with other factors / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: Gamma-glutamyl transferase(GGT) has found wide application as a diagnostic test in hepatobiliary disease, and has been used as the best single marker of alcohol intake. In spite of the wide use of GGT in clinical practice, knowledge concerning the distribution and the determinants of this risk factor in the normal population is spared in Korea. We tried to obtain a better evaluation of specificity of serum GGT by analysis of a large population of health examination. METHODS: GGT was measured in 17,140 males aged 17-86 years and 12,125 females aged 18-90 years screened in a health survey program. RESULTS: In multiple regression analyses, serum GGT level showed strong positive association with fatty liver, body mass index, serum levels of AST, ALT triglyceride, uric acid, alkaline phosphatase, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure, and weakly positive association with serum levels of creatinine, total cholesterol, and fasting blood sugar. In females, menopause were positively associated with GGT. CONCLUSIONS: An elevated serum GGT levels is a strong indicator of hepatobiliary dysfunction or fatty liver. However, proper interpretation of a serum GGT elevation should be carefully considered in correlation with clinical data and laboratory findings.