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Query: UMLS:C0149521 (chronic pancreatitis)
 7,199 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Pancreatic necrosis is a principal determinant of the severity, duration, and infectious complications of acute pancreatitis. There has been no objective index for pancreatic necrosis, and its recognition has necessarily rested upon nonspecific clinical signs, including later deterioration or appearance of sepsis. In search of such an index, we have measured serum levels of a poly-[C]-specific acid ribonuclease (RNase) in 38 patients with acute pancreatitis, 12 patients with chronic pancreatitis, and 50 control patients. The values in chronic pancreatitis (mean, 52 units; range, 33 to 80 units) were within observed normal limits (mean, 51; range, 17 to 94). The values in acute pancreatitis segregated into two groups, normal values (group A) and high values (group B). Of 25 patients in group A (mean, 46; range, 19 to 87), only one developed evidence of pancreatic necrosis or abscess. In contrast, of the 13 patients in group B (mean, 192, range, 98 to 385), 11 required surgical debridement/drainage for pancreatic necrosis (six) or abscess (five) (P less than 0.001). Each of the other two patients had prolonged pancreatic inflammation with fever and a pancreatic mass which persisted for more than 2 weeks. RNase levels in group B patients rose within a few days after onset of pancreatitis and tended to parallel the clinical course. These findings suggest that measurement of serum RNase in acute pancreatitis gives a reliable indication of pancreatic necrosis. Therefore RNase determinations should be of value for earlier identification and monitoring of patients at high risk of late complications, and for helping to select those who will benefit from early debridement before secondary infection occurs.
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PMID:Serum ribonuclease elevations and pancreatic necrosis in acute pancreatitis. 46 72

Chronic alcohol consumption is known to increase the susceptibility to acute and chronic pancreatitis, and it is likely that a cofactor is required to initiate the progression to alcoholic pancreatitis. The severity and complications of alcoholic and nonalcoholic acute pancreatitis may be influenced by a number of cofactors, including endotoxemia. To explore the effect of a possible cofactor, we used endotoxin [lipopolysaccharide (LPS)] as a tool to induce cellular injury in the alcoholic pancreas. Single, increasing doses of endotoxin were injected in rats fed an alcohol or control diet and killed 24 h after the injection. We examined the mechanism by which LPS exacerbates pancreatic injury in alcohol-fed rats and whether the injury is associated with apoptosis or necrosis. We showed that chronic alcohol exposure alone inhibits apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway and the downstream apoptosis executor caspase-3 compared with the controls. Pancreatic necrosis and inflammation increased after LPS injection in control and alcohol-fed rats in a dose-dependent fashion but with a significantly greater response in the alcohol-fed animals. Caspase activities and TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling positivity were lower in the alcoholic pancreas injected with LPS, whereas the histopathology and inflammation were more severe compared with the control-fed animals. Assessment of a putative indicator of necrosis, the ratio of ADP to ATP, indicated that alcohol exposure accelerates pancreatic necrosis in response to endotoxin. These findings suggest that the pancreas exposed to alcohol is more sensitive to LPS-induced damage because of increased sensitivity to necrotic cell death rather than apoptotic cell death. Similar to the liver, the pancreas is capable of responding to LPS with a more severe response in alcohol-fed animals, favoring pancreatic necrosis rather than apoptosis. We speculate that this mechanism may occur in acute alcoholic pancreatitis patients.
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PMID:Pancreatic response to endotoxin after chronic alcohol exposure: switch from apoptosis to necrosis? 1597 89

Pancreatic pseudocysts arise as a complication of acute and chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic trauma (including postsurgical). Pancreatic necrosis occurs following severe pancreatitis and may evolve into an entity termed organized pancreatic necrosis that is endoscopically treatable. Pancreatic duct leaks are frequently seen in relation to pseudocysts and necrosis. Alternatively, pancreatic duct leaks may present with pleural effusions, ascites, or after pancreatic surgery or percutaneous drainage. Endoscopic treatment of pancreatic fluid collections and pancreatic duct leaks can be achieved using transpapillary and/or transmural stent placement.
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PMID:Treatment of pancreatic pseudocysts, pancreatic necrosis, and pancreatic duct leaks. 1764 May 83