Measurement of amylase activity--a useful indication of tissue damage after major radiation accidents?

Joachim Kohn (1912–1987) and the Origin of Cellulose Acetate Electrophoresis

The year 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the discovery of cellulose acetate (CA) electrophoresis by Joachim Kohn, a pathologist at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton, London. During a career in pathology that began in 1950 and spanned 37 years, Kohn published more than 50 papers in clinical laboratory medicine. He was the first to report the use of CA microbiology filters as solid supports for zone electrophoresis and the separation of hemoglobin phenotypes on CA membranes. Kohn also invented a new electrophoresis chamber and an 8-position stamp applicator especially for use with CA membranes. Beginning in 1957, Kohn pioneered the development of CA techniques for immunoelectrophoresis, counter immunoelectrophoresis, radial immunodiffusion, protein blotting, and immunofixation. He also designed a transport dressing for burn patients and was the first person to describe the use of an enzyme-based dipstick for measuring fingerstick blood glucose concentrations. This short review highlights Kohn’s discovery of CA electrophoresis and his contributions to the development of this procedure.

Changes in serum and salivary amylase during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer: a comparison of conventionally fractionated radiotherapy with CHART

The changes in serum amylase that occur when radiotherapy is given in the treatment of head and neck cancer has been studied in 41 patients, 29 treated by CHART and 12 by conventionally fractionated radiotherapy. The peak rise in serum amylase following the start of treatment is seen earlier and is greater in the patients receiving continuous hyperfractionated accelerated radiotherapy (CHART). The serum amylase returns to normal earlier in the CHART patients so that the area under the curve is the same for both groups. The difference probably reflects the more rapid delivery of treatment to the patients receiving CHART. A close correlation between the peak rise in serum amylase and the amount of parotid tissue in the treatment volume is demonstrated. For six patients the total amount of amylase secreted by the parotid gland during CHART was measured and found to decline rapidly within a few days of the start of radiotherapy. The rise in serum amylase that results from the irradiation of salivary tissue provides a unique biochemical measure of an early radiation effect in a normal tissue. This probably reflects the interphase cell death of serous salivary cells. Although these immediate changes are of considerable interest they may not relate to the late effects of radiation on salivary gland function.