Pancreatitis is often a fatal condition, in which the pancreas digests itself and surrounding tissue. Scientists have previously found that alcohol can trigger the condition by combining with fatty acids in the pancreas, which leads to an excessive release of stored calcium ions. Once calcium ions enter cell fluid in the pancreas it activates digestive enzymes and damages the cells.

Antioxidant supplementation was found to be effective in relieving pain and reducing levels of oxidative stress in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP), reports a new study in Gastroenterology.

Severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) remains a lethal disease. It is defined as an inflammatory process of the pancreas with possible peripancreatic tissue and multi-organ involvement inducing multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) with an increased mortality rate.

A case of cystic colonic duplication in an adult mimicked a tumor of the pancreas and the diagnosis was established by histopathological examination of the resected specimen after distal pancreatectomy.

Stone formation is an important feature of chronic pancreatitis, especially tropical calcific pancreatitis (TCP), where the stones are large in size, highly irregular in shape and cause enormous tissue destruction.

Hepatitis viruses have a strong tropism for hepatocytes; viral antigen also has been detected in pancreas and gallbladder. Acute pancreatitis is common in Fulminant hepatic failure but rarely reported in acute viral hepatitis.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is generally considered to be safe with a low rate of serious complications. However, dislocation of a gastrostomy tube can lead to serious complications.

The term "cancer" (from the Greek karkinos, which means sea crab) was used for the first time by Greek doctor Hippocrates five hundred years b.C. to define the tumours that he observed in his patients. Nowadays it is still difficult to diagnose, and prognosis is bad. Cancer is already the main cause of death in many countries, ranking even above cardiovascular diseases.

As we continue to advance our understanding of oxidative stress and its relationship to a variety of diseases, researchers are encouraged about the potential therapeutic role for antioxidants. In this study, a team from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, found that antioxidants may offer relief from the painful symptoms of chronic pancreatitis (CP), an ongoing inflammation of the pancreas that can lead to severe GI complications.

While new findings from Ohio State University scientists suggest a genetic marker that could help distinguish between chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer and gauge who will do well with cancer treatment, a pharmacologist at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson in Philadelphia sees the discovery as much more.