Amylase in obstetrics and gynecology: Review

Abstract

Amylase is one of the main enzymes of the digestive system. It is principally produced by the pancreas and the salivary glands. In the digestive system, its main function is digestion of carbohydrates to break down starch into maltose. Now, amylase has been widely recognized as a very important tool in the medical field. Too little or too much of amylase in the blood is an indication of a variety of problems, particularly with the pancreas. Now, salivary/serum/uterine amylase tests are being used extensively in the obstetrics and gynecology. These simple but wonderful tests have been found to be very effective and reliable, in the identification of certain gynecological diseases and disorders. For instance, the high level of amylase could be an early sign of ovarian cancer, ruptured ectopic pregnancy when the low levels of blood amylase can be a predictor of preeclampsia. Human uterine amylase may be related to infertility. The other related conditions may be hyperamylasemia in response to ritodrine or ephedrine and macroamylasemia in pregnant patients, etc. At the same time, amylase has now been identified as a stress marker and is consequently being used for identification of several stress-related complications that greatly affect women. Especially salivary amylase used to as a stress biomarker in pregnant patients.