The present review is focused on the clinical significance of lactoferrin in pancreatic secretions and stone formation in chronic pancreatitis, and of serum anti-lactoferrin antibody in autoimmune pancreatitis. Lactoferrin secretion is increased in pancreatic secretions in calcified and non-calcified chronic pancreatitis. Lactoferrin, pancreatic stone protein and trypsin are present in pancreat...

Acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) occurs in 10-35% of children presenting idiopathic acute pancreatitis (IAP) and can evolve to chronic pancreatitis (CP), especially if genetic mutations are present.

Clinical findings have shown that approximately 40% of patients with pancreatitis, acute or chronic, have severe vitamin D deficiency; this can reach up to 60% of patients with chronic pancreatitis. These findings raise an important question: Is vitamin D deficiency a cause or a result of pancreatitis? The answer(s) to this question is clinically important given that high oral doses of vitamin ...

Background—Capillary leakage with fluid loss into the third space contributes to many of the early systemic complications in severe acute pancreatitis. There has been increasing interest in endothelin as one of the factors aVecting capillary permeability. Aim—To elucidate further the role of endothelin in the development of capillary leakage in acute pancreatitis by investigating the eVect of e...

CONTEXT The major etiologic factor of chronic pancreatitis in adults is excessive alcohol consumption, whereas among children structural anomalies, systemic and metabolic disorders, and genetic factors are prevalent. Mutations in the cationic trypsinogen gene (PRSS1) cause hereditary pancreatitis, while mutations in serine protease inhibitor Kazal type 1 (SPINK1), cystic fibrosis transmembrane ...

PURPOSE The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of CT features of the gallbladder in the prediction of gallstone pancreatitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty-six patients who underwent a diagnostic computed tomography (CT) scan for acute pancreatitis were included. The readers assessed the presence of pericholecystic increased attenuation of the liver parenchyma...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The N34S mutation in the serine protease inhibitor Kazal type I (SPINK1) gene has been associated with chronic pancreatitis. Clinical data about the phenotypic expression of alcoholic chronic pancreatitis with the N34S variant are limited. The prevalence of the N34S mutation in patients with chronic pancreatitis and healthy individuals from Eastern Europe is unknown. METHO...

The incidence of acute pancreatitis is growing and worldwide population-based studies report a doubling or tripling since the 1970s. 25% of acute pancreatitis are severe and associated with histological changes of necrotizing pancreatitis. There is still no specific medical treatment for acute pancreatitis. The average mortality resides around 10%. In order to develop new specific medical treat...

We read the case of combined salicylate and simvastatin induced pancreatitis by Antonopoulos et al. with great interest [1]. While the authors correctly identified the possible role of simvastatin in causing pancreatitis the patient was re-started on another statin rosuvastatin. The authors failed to take into account the fact that pancreatitis might be a class effect of statins. Similar to oth...

Acute pancreatitis is acute inflammatory disease of the pancreas. Nutrition has a number of anti-inflammatory effects that could affect outcomes of patients with pancreatitis. Further, it is the most promising nonspecific treatment modality in acute pancreatitis to date. This paper summarizes the best available evidence regarding the use of nutrition with a view of optimising clinical managemen...