About Chronic Pancreatitis (1)
What Is Chronic Pancreatitis?
Chronic pancreatitis is chronic inflammation of the pancreas. It has long been said that pancreatitis is caused by binge eating and drinking, especially fatty foods and alcohol, but in fact this accounts for only 40% of the causes. The other 60% have unknown causes. Even if the cause is unknown, chronic pancreatitis cannot develop by chance; there must be a cause.
What Causes Chronic Pancreatitis?
When I was young, I spent about 3 years in the Department of Gastroenterology at Saitama Medical University. Saitama Medical University was founded in Moroyama, Saitama Prefecture, by my relative Kiyomi Maruki. My family's hospital was in the neighboring town of Hidaka. Among the outpatients, there were quite a few who complained of abdominal pain of unknown cause.
One day, the professor invited a doctor from the Department of Gastroenterology at Nippon Medical School and performed a pancreatic biopsy. When the collected tissue was observed under an electron microscope, cytomegalovirus inclusion bodies were found. The case was submitted to an international journal called Endoscopy and was published.
Since then, I have come to think that infectious pancreatitis may account for most of the remaining 60%. In fact, young women who do not binge eat or drink are often diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis when they are tested. When I consider why the pancreas is prone to infection, there is an anatomical reason that makes it possible.
The Contents of the Duodenum Flow Back into the Pancreatic Duct
The pancreas secretes insulin, which is called endocrine secretion, and at the same time it also performs exocrine secretion, releasing digestive enzymes called pancreatic juice. Pancreatic juice is secreted into the duodenum through the duodenal papilla, and at that time the contents of the duodenum flow back into the pancreatic duct. Because the duodenal contents contain various bacteria, infection can occur. Normally, immunity is strong enough to kill bacteria and viruses, but when immunity declines, infection occurs.
Next time, I will explain the diagnostic criteria for chronic pancreatitis.
