Question

Enzymes as diagnostic tools.

How do enzymes help in the diagnosis of human disease?

Why are enzyme tests only the first step in the diagnosis of disease?

Answer 1

Enzymes plays an important role for any fundamental biological process that is crucial role for survival of all living organisms whether humans, animals, plants or microorganisms. It acts as biocatalysts .Their specific function is to catalyze biochemical reactions that goes on in a living organism. If enzyme metabolism system functions abnormally, it leads to a number of metabolic diseases. All enzymes varies from one another and they are used to detect some diseases in human as a diagnostic tool. In diseased condition, enzyme concentration varies. Thus, variation in enzyme concentration leads to detecting disease or disorders that is related to the particular part of the human body. Enzyme concentration depends on many factors. Some of them are enzyme formation,cellular leakage of enzymes and enzyme clearance. Therefore, whenever change in enzyme concentration is detected from the normal conditions it indicates a disease or disorder in the patient. Some of the enzymes that helps in diagnosis of diseases are lactate dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase etc.

In diagnosis, enzyme tests are used as a screening test. These tests are used to identify a subset of the population who should have additional testing to determine the presence or absence of disease. There can be change in concentration of a particular enzyme for a number of diseases. The enzyme tests determines a set of diseases from which the positive disease is a part of. There has to be further in depth diagnosis for determination of the disease. Therefore, the enzyme tests forms only the first step in the diagnosis of a disease.