 |
|
|
 |
Pancreatitis Infomation |
 |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pancreatitis Infomation |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Pancreatitis Information
Table of Contents
If the Pancreas stops working, What Happens? What are the Symptoms of Pancreatitis? What is the treatment for Pancreatitis? Can't they transplant the Pancreas? There Are Two Stages Of Pancreatitis: What is the Difference between Acute and Chronic Pancreatitis? Chronic Pancreatitis and Etiology and Pathogenesis Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. This condition usually begins at an acute stage, and in some cases, may become chronic after a severe and/or recurrent attack. When the pancreas becomes inflamed, the digestive enzymes attack the tissue that produces them. One of these enzymes, called trypsin, can cause tissue damage and bleeding, and can cause the pancreas blood cells and blood vessels to swell. With chronic pancreatitis, the pancreas may eventually stop producing the enzymes that are necessary for your body to digest and absorb nutrients. This is called exocrine failure and fat and protein are not digested or absorbed. When chronic pancreatitis is advanced, the pancreas can also lose its ability to make insulin; this is called endocrine failure. The pancreas is a large and important gland behind the stomach close to the duodenum. It digests your food and produces insulin, the main chemical for balancing the sugar level in the blood.
The pancreas is a solid gland about 10 inches (25cm) long. It is attached to the back of the abdominal cavity behind the stomach and is shaped like a tadpole. Its head is just to the right of the mid-line and its body and tail point upwards at an angle so that the tail is situated just beneath the extreme edge of the left side of the ribs. The head is closely attached to the first part of the small intestine (duodenum), into which the stomach empties food and liquid, already partially digested. It is to this partially digested food that the pancreas adds its digestive juices (enzymes).
The tube draining the liver of its bile (the bile duct) lies just behind the head of the pancreas and usually joins the bowel at the same place where the fluids from the pancreas enter the bowel. Running behind the body of the pancreas are many important blood vessels. Because of its position in the body, it is not easy for a surgeon to operate on the pancreas. Food consists of carbohydrates (e.g. starch), proteins (e.g. meat), and fat (e.g. butter), and digestion is not possible without the enzymes produced by the pancreas. The pancreas makes a number of different enzymes each of which is responsible for breaking down the different types of food into small particles suitable for absorption. The enzymes are made in small glands within the pancreas and travel along increasingly large tubes until finally they reach the main pancreatic tube. This connects the gland to the first part of the bowel where food passes after it has gone through the stomach. The enzymes are not active when they are first made within the pancreas (otherwise they would digest the pancreas as well) but when they pass into the bowel they are activated by the juices in the bowel. The main enzymes are called amylase (which digests carbohydrates), trypsin (which digests protein) and lipase (which digests fats). The bile, which comes from the liver, is also very important for the digestion of fat because it acts like a soap and breaks up the fat into minute droplets so that the pancreatic lipase can digest it. Insulin and Glucose All the body’s cells use glucose (sugar) as an energy source. The level of sugar in the blood is kept constant by insulin, which is made by special cells in the pancreas. If the cells are not working properly and insulin is lacking then diabetes develops.
If the Pancreas
Stops Working, What Happens? Depending upon how badly the pancreas functions there are two problems. The first is that food is poorly absorbed, which causes weight loss, and there is diarrhea, often rather fatty as the undigested fat causes pale, bulky and smelly motions. The second is, if too little insulin is made, diabetes develops with frequent passage of urine and weight loss. These two problems need not occur together.
What Are The Symptoms Of
Pancreatitis? The symptoms begin as those of acute pancreatitis:
Most chronic pancreatitis is due to alcohol abuse and is already chronic at its first presentation. In rare cases this condition leads to cancer of the pancreas, an unchecked growth of abnormal cells in the pancreas.
What Is The Treatment
For Pancreatitis? Your doctor will focus treatment on your nutritional and metabolic needs and on relieving your pain. Mild pain can be treatment with analgesics. If the cause of acute pancreatitis is gallstones, you may have to have your gallbladder removed to prevent further attacks. If the bile duct is found to be enlarged, you may need an ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) to drain it. An ERCP is a way your doctor can examine your pancreas, pancreatic duct, the common bile duct, and/or sphincter of Oddi. It involves passage of a long narrow tube called an endoscope used to put X-ray contrast dye into the bile and pancreas ducts. In severe cases, surgery will be required to drain the pancreatic duct or to remove part of the pancreas. Your doctor will also likely give you dietary guidelines to follow in order to reduce the amount of fat you eat, since your body has trouble digesting these substances. You may also need to take pancreatic enzyme supplements, which are in the form of a tablet, every time you have a meal. These supplements will help your body absorb food and help you regain some of the lost weight. Can't
they transplant the pancreas? There are a very few research hospitals performing pancreas transplants. However, they are limited to kidney and pancreas transplants. It is possible to transplant the islet cells to the liver. The risk of complications is high, and the majority of these procedures have been placed on hold. Are herbs and vitamins
important? Many physicians and practitioners are prescribing herbal and vitamin therapy. Many patients report fewer side effects, as well, as improved benefit. Ginger is well known for preventing nausea. Others formulations which promote healthy pancreatic function include Selenium, Chromium Picolate, and Milk Thistle.
There Are Two Stages Of
Pancreatitis: Acute pancreatitis: This condition can occur suddenly, soon after the pancreas becomes damaged or irritated by its own enzymes. Although acute pancreatitis is not fully understood, its causes are usually gallstones or alcohol abuse. When gallstones pass through the bile duct, they may become stuck, causing enzymes to build up in the pancreas because they cannot drain through the duct, and damaging the pancreas. In the case of alcohol, the pancreas may be sensitive to the effects of excessive alcohol. The amount of alcohol consumed will vary from person to person. Other less common causes of this condition are: excessive levels of fat particles in the blood, mumps, drugs, surgery, heredity, and idiopathic (unknown cause). Acute pancreatitis affects about 80,000 Americans every year. Chronic Pancreatitis: This stage of pancreatitis begins as acute pancreatitis, and becomes chronic when the pancreas becomes scarred. This condition is usually due to years of excessive alcohol consumption, but may also develop from other causes of pancreatitis.
What Is The Difference Between
Acute And Chronic Pancreatitis? Most cases of acute pancreatitis are mild and involve a short hospital stay to help heal the pancreas. Chronic pancreatitis is a much more persistent condition, and occurs more often in men than women. Etiology and Pathogenesis Biliary tract disease and alcoholism account for >= 80% of hospital admissions for acute pancreatitis. The remaining 20% are attributed to drugs (eg, azathioprine, sulfasalazine, furosemide, valproic acid), estrogen use associated with hyperlipidemia, infection (eg, mumps), hypertriglyceridemia, endoscopic retrograde pancreatography, structural abnormalities of the pancreatic duct (eg, stricture, cancer, pancreas divisum), structural abnormalities of the common bile duct and ampullary region (eg, choledochal cyst, sphincter of Oddi stenosis), surgery (particularly of stomach and biliary tract and after coronary artery bypass grafting), vascular disease (especially severe hypotension), blunt and penetrating trauma, hyperparathyroidism and hypercalcemia, renal transplantation, hereditary pancreatitis, or uncertain causes.
Symptoms and
Signs
|
 |
|
