A pancreatic enzyme that breaks down fats, used to assess the pancreas.
Lipase is an enzyme made mainly by your pancreas that helps break down fats from food into fatty acids your body can absorb. Small amounts circulate in your blood normally.
When the pancreas is inflamed or injured, it leaks more lipase into the blood, so the level rises. This makes lipase a key marker of pancreatic health.
Lipase is mainly used to detect and monitor acute pancreatitis, where levels can rise to several times the upper limit. It is more specific to the pancreas than amylase and stays raised for longer after an attack, which makes it the preferred test.
Raised lipase can also occur with other abdominal problems and some medications, so the result is read together with symptoms.
Aniva reads your result against research-backed ranges, not just the lab's wide normal. The reference shown below is specific to this biomarker.
Adult guidance values (guidance only, vary by lab and method):
| Category | Lipase |
|---|---|
| Normal | roughly 13 to 60 U/L |
| Raised | above the lab upper limit |
Levels three or more times the upper limit suggest acute pancreatitis.
You learn whether your lipase is normal or raised, which reflects how your pancreas is doing. A markedly high result, usually with abdominal pain, points to pancreatic inflammation and needs prompt medical attention.
Kidney impairment can raise lipase. Some medications, certain abdominal conditions, and rarely a harmless bound form called macrolipasemia can raise it without pancreatitis. Haemolysis can interfere with some assays.
Best read alongside pancreatic amylase and, where relevant, abdominal imaging and clinical symptoms.
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