New Developments in the Aetiogenesis of Chronic Pancreatitis: Implications for Treatment and Disease Prophylaxis —— Symposium from the World Congresses of Gastroenterology, Vienna, September 1998. Supplement Issue: Digestion 1998, Vol. 59, Suppl. 4

----- 慢性胰腺炎病因研究的新进展：对治疗和疾病预防的意义

ISBN: 9783805568043 出版年：1998 页码：60 S.Karger

Over the decades, many concepts have been developed to explain the aetiogenesis of both acute and chronic pancreatitis; however, none of them has proved satisfactory in the end, and it seems that different factors may play an important role in the development of pancreatitis. In this issue, five internationally renowned investigators report their views, experiences and results of their quest for control of this puzzling and painful disease, investigating an alternative method to surgery. The ‘oxidant stress hypothesis’, for instance, accommodates present knowledge of the pathogenesis of both acute and chronic pancreatitis. This pioneering work, recognising the importance of the methionine transsulfuration pathway in the acinar cell, has revolutionised approaches to the therapy of this disease. Glutathione is important for the protective mechanism against inappropriate protease activation, a mechanism which may play a critical role in individuals in a state of oxidant stress, be it due to alcohol, xenobiotics, malnutrition or other conditions. Therapy relieving oxidant stress by appropriate nutritional supplements therefore seems a logical step. But oxidant stress cannot be considered the only condition favouring pancreatitis; genetic factors are certain to contribute to the development of this disease. However, oxidant stress therapy appears to offer the most effective means to combat it.