title: Chronic pancreatitis: etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This review discusses current concepts regarding the etiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic pancreatitis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Treatment of patients suffering from complications of chronic pancreatitis remains a major challenge. Continuous alcohol consumption, a disease with enormous personal and social impact, is still the leading factor in the development of chronic pancreatitis. The most distressing symptom for the patient is pain, which in many instances has already led to a considerable analgesic abuse before a specialist is even consulted. The development of an enlargement of the pancreatic head, the "pacemaker of the disease," parallels pain and potential organ complications such as common bile duct stenosis or portal hypertension. What triggers pancreatic head enlargement is still not known; in particular it is unclear what triggers growth factors to step into action. Pain is most likely due to a combination of hypertension in the organ and parenchymal alterations. Current therapeutic concepts therefore aim at alleviating pain and at management of organ complications while preserving functional tissue to best prevent exocrine and endocrine dysfunction. The ideal procedure thus seems today to be the "customized" pancreatic head resection with additional optional drainage of the pancreatic body and tail.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, University Hospital Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. izbicki@uke.uni-hamburg.de
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Strate
authors.forename: W T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Knoefel
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yekebas
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Izbicki
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery