Differential Diagnosis of Liver Diseases by Enzyme Patterns. A Historical Review

Abstract

We can consider the years 1954–55 as the birthdate of modern clinical enzymology. Two observations have established the foundation of modern clinical enzymology: In 1954, La Due etal. [1] observed an increase in the AsT activity in the serum of patients with acute myocardial infarction, and in 1955, De Ritis et al. [2, 3] observed an increase of AsT and AlT in the serum of patients with acute viral hepatitis. This basic discovery aroused immediate world-wide interest in clinical enzymology research, systemically applied to the study of liver and biliary tract diseases. Since then, numerous enzymatic activities have been found to be present or increased in the serum of patients with acute chronic liver diseases and in biliary tract diseases. These activities have been classified according to their function, on the basis of the role they play in the various stages of the different metabolic cycles or their different intracellular localization.