Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0030305 (pancreatitis)
 16,014 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Whole-blood free amino acids were measured in a control group made up of eight healthy women fasted for 12 h and also in eight patients with acute pancreatitis, five patients with acute cholecystitis and seven patients with acute appendicitis. Blood was withdrawn immediately on admission to hospital and again 3 d later following a controlled peripheral parenteral nutrition diet; this is with the exception of the appendicitis group. l-Cystathionine and l-methionine concentrations were significantly higher in pancreatitis and appendicitis patients when compared with controls. In the pancreatitis and cholecystitis patients, l-serine concentration was also significantly higher when compared with controls. The l-homocysteine concentration was significantly higher only in the appendicitis group when compared with the control group. l-Cystine concentration was unchanged in all the patients studied when compared with control subjects. The l-methionine : l-cystine ratio was significantly higher and the l-glutamine : l-cystine ratio was significantly lower in all the patients when compared with controls. The blood S-amino acid pattern reflects an impairment in liver transsulfuration pathway during acute abdominal processes. This work supports the idea that the l-methionine : l-cystine and l-glutamine : l-cystine ratios can be taken as good markers to evaluate the S-amino acid metabolism and suggests the importance of using N-acetylcysteine as a required nutrient in these situations.
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PMID:Blood sulfur-amino acid concentration reflects an impairment of liver transsulfuration pathway in patients with acute abdominal inflammatory processes. 1124 85

Several experimental studies suggest that disturbed methylation can influence cellular differentiation in the pancreas and contribute to toxic injury in ways that enhance the pathogenesis of pancreatitis and carcinogenesis. In vitro development of fetal rat pancreas requires a basal level of methionine, but full differentiation requires a higher methionine level. Involvement of methylation in normal differentiation is supported by reports of development of hepatocyte-like cells in the pancreas of rats fed a choline-deficient diet. The administration of ethionine by feeding to mice in a choline-sufficient diet caused a lower incidence of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis than in mice given a choline-deficient diet. Feeding or injections of ethionine in choline-sufficient diets induces low grade pancreatitis and pancreatic atrophy in rats. In the N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine-induced model of ductal adenocarcinoma in hamsters, the latent period for induction of carcinomas has been dramatically reduced by the intermittent feeding of a choline-deficient diet combined with ethionine treatment. A recent epidemiologic study in smokers indicates that the risk of pancreatic carcinoma is inverse to serum levels of folate. These studies suggest that compromised methyl metabolism might be associated with pancreatic cancer risk in humans. Finally, it has recently been demonstrated that serum homocysteine and erythrocyte S-adenosylhomocysteine levels are elevated, and erythrocyte S-adenosylmethionine content is reduced in patients with diabetes mellitus and renal failure, likely reflecting disturbed methylation pathways. The latter may contribute to the pathogenesis of complicating lesions in diabetes. These studies suggest that disturbed methyl metabolism may contribute to the pathogenesis of several pancreatic diseases.
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PMID:Abnormal methyl metabolism in pancreatic toxicity and diabetes. 1216 95

The use of fibrates in the management of lipoprotein disorders has a history dating back to the mid-1960s. This group of drugs has now been tested in several large long-term trials with cardiovascular end points. Overall, there is good evidence for the reduction of cardiovascular disease in primary prevention studies and in those of subjects with manifest disease. More recent trials have suffered from high interference due to 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (statin) introduction, particularly in their placebo control groups. However, there is very good evidence for overall safety from a combined study of >20,000 patients in these controlled clinical trials lasting approximately 5 years. Abdominal pain has been observed more frequently in the statin vs placebo group. Myopathy, liver enzyme elevations, and cholecystitis have been potential adverse reactions of interest. However, these have occurred at a very low rate and are rarely found to be statistically more frequent in the active-treatment group compared with the subjects taking placebo. The recent Fenofibrate Intervention and Event Lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) study found a slightly higher incidence of pancreatitis, deep venous thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. Small creatinine and homocysteine elevations are observed in many patients taking fibrates, and the effect of this on long-term outcomes is under study. The FIELD study also described a significant reduction in the rates of progression of proteinuria and vascular retinopathy with fibrate therapy. To date, there has been no study exclusive to patients with elevated triglycerides, raising the question of the potential benefit of these drugs in patients with the lipid abnormalities most effectively treated with fibrates.
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PMID:Expert commentary: the safety of fibrates in lipid-lowering therapy. 1736 73

The role of homocysteine role in inflammation and malignancy has been studied experimentally. Some researchers suggest that a relationship exists between pancreatitis and homocystinuria, possibly being secondary to occlusive vascular disease of the pancreas. To date, plasma homocysteine levels in pancreatic disease have not been studied. We aimed to analyze the homocysteine status in patients with acute pancreatitis, and the changes of the plasma homocysteine level at the acute phase of the disease and six months after hospital discharge. Fourteen acute pancreatitis patients and 14 healthy subjects were studied. Plasma homocysteine, vitamin B12, folate, amylase, lipase, C-reactive protein, total, HDL and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood urea nitrogen, white blood cells, and creatinine were measured in the two groups of subjects. Plasma levels of homocysteine were significantly higher in patients with acute pancreatitis as were serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, WBC counts, amylase, lipase, and C-reactive protein. An impaired creatinine clearance was also found in these patients but this did not reach statistical significance. Serum total, HDL, and LDL cholesterol concentrations were not significantly different between the two groups of subjects. Our data suggest that homocysteine may play a role in inflammatory diseases of the pancreas. Increased plasma homocysteine levels in acute pancreatitis may be a reason, or a marker, for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. In conclusion, this is the first report showing that patients with acute pancreatitis have higher plasma homocysteine levels than healthy subjects.
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PMID:Changes in plasma levels of homocysteine in patients with acute pancreatitis. 1846 55