biology

Pancreatic enzymes (medication)

Pancreatic enzymes (medication) is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pancreatic enzymes (medication) rather than just read about it. In short: Pancreatic enzymes, also known as pancreases, pancrelipases or pancreatins are commercial mixtures of amylase, lipase, protease and lactase obtained from pigs. The components are digestive enzymes similar to those normally produced by the human pancreas.

Key takeaways

Pancreatic enzymes (medication) belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pancreatic enzymes (medication) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pancreatic enzymes (medication) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pancreatic enzymes, also known as pancreases, pancrelipases or pancreatins are commercial mixtures of amylase, lipase, protease and lactase obtained from pigs. The components are digestive enzymes similar to those normally produced by the human pancreas. They help in the digestion of fats, starches, and proteins. They are used to treat malabsorption syndrome due to certain pancreatic insufficiencies. These pancreatic problems may be due to cystic fibrosis, surgical removal of the pancreas, long-term pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, or MODY 5, among others. The preparation is taken by mouth. The treatment is also known as pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy or PERT. Common side effects include vomiting, abdominal pain, constipation, and diarrhea. Other side effects include perianal irritation and high blood uric acid. Use is believed to be safe during pregnancy. Pancreatic enzymes have been used as medications since at least the 1800s. They are on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. In 2023, it was the 258th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 1 million prescriptions.

Medical uses Pancrelipases are generally a first line approach in treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency and other digestive disorders, accompanying cystic fibrosis, complicating surgical pancreatectomy, or resulting from chronic pancreatitis. The formulations are generally hard capsules filled with gastro-resistant granules. Pancrelipases and pancreatins are similar, except pancrelipases has an increased lipase component. Pancreatin is a mixture of several digestive enzymes produced by the exocrine cells of the pancreas. It is composed of amylase, lipase and protease. This mixture is used to treat conditions in which pancreatic secretions are deficient, such as surgical pancreatectomy, pancreatitis and cystic fibrosis. It has been claimed to help with food allergies, celiac disease, autoimmune disease, cancer and weight loss. Pancreatin is sometimes called "pancreatic acid", although it is neither a single chemical substance nor an acid. A similar mixture of enzymes is sold as pancrelipase, which contains more active lipase enzyme than does pancreatin. The trypsin found in pancreatin works to hydrolyze proteins into oligopeptides; amylase hydrolyzes starches into oligosaccharides and the disaccharide maltose; and lipase hydrolyzes triglycerides into fatty acids and glycerols. Pancreatin is an effective enzyme supplement for replacing missing pancreatic enzymes, and aids in the digestion of foods in cases of pancreatic insufficiency. Pancreatin reduces the absorption of iron from food in the duodenum during digestion. Some contact lens-cleaning solutions contain porcine pancreatin extractives to assist in the intended protein-removal process.

Side effects High doses over a long period of time are associated with fibrosing colonopathy. Due to this association a maximum dose of 10,000 IU of lipase per kilogram per day is recommended. Though never reported there is a theoretical risk of a viral infection as they are from pigs.

Society and culture

Brand names Brand names include Creon, Pancreaze, Pertzye, Sollpura (Liprotamase), Ultresa, and Zenpep. In some countries, Creon is marketed by Viatris after Upjohn merged with Mylan to create Viatris.

Legal status

United States Longstanding pancreatic enzyme replacement products (PERPs)—some in use for a century or more—fell under a 2006 FDA requirement that pharmaceutical companies with porcine-derived PERP products submit a New Drug Application (NDA) for each; Creon (AbbVie Inc.), the first of the commercial PERP products approved after the FDA directive, reached market in 2009. The specific requirement and reasoning for the FDA directive was that manufacturers submit a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) and Medication Guide to ensure patients are adequately informed regarding potential risks associated with administration of high doses of porcine-derived PERP products, especially with regard to "the theoretical risk of transmission of viral disease from pigs to patients", the risk of which (alongside other off-target effects) is reduced by patient adherence to label dosing instructions.

Shortages and alternatives Due to its non-constant supply, being sourced from pigs, there have been several pancreatin shortages in different markets. This has led for alternative sources of enzymes to be studied and commercialised, mainly being of bacterial or fungal origin.

Notes

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pancreatic enzymes (medication)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pancreatic enzymes (medication) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pancreatic enzymes (medication) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pancreatic enzymes (medication) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pancreatic enzymes (medication)

In research: Pancreatic enzymes (medication) appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pancreatic enzymes (medication) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pancreatic enzymes (medication) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Drugs developed by AbbVie, Enzymes, Enzymes used as drugs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pancreatic enzymes (medication) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pancreatic enzymes (medication) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pancreatic enzymes (medication) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Pancreatic enzymes (medication) in simple terms?

Why does Pancreatic enzymes (medication) matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pancreatic enzymes (medication)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pancreatic enzymes (medication).