CROMOGRANIN A AND ITS CLINICAL USE
Abstract
Background. An old widely recepted opinion was that the medullary part of the suprarenal gland was primarily responsible for a adequate response to stress. Recently a broader significance of the gland has been recognised. The chromogranin A which is produced and secreted by its enterochromaffine cells is extensively involved in several physiological and pathological processes in the body. Determination of the serum concentration of chromogranin A is nowadays extremely useful for diagnosis of the neuroendocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal tract.
Conclusions. In the present article its localisation in the body and its biochemistry are described, as well as normal serum concentration values and their changes in various pathological states.
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