title: Antioxidant therapy in acute pancreatitis: experimental and clinical evidence.
abstract: CONCLUSIONS
  Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of both acute and chronic pancreatitis. Although its impact is well investigated and has been studied clinically in chronic pancreatitis, it is less well defined for acute pancreatitis.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Pathophysiological aspects of oxidative stress in acute pancreatitis have shown that reactive oxidative species (ROS) participate in the inflammatory cascade, and mediate inflammatory cell adhesion and consecutive tissue damage. Furthermore, ROS are involved in the generation of pain as another important clinical feature of patients suffering from acute pancreatitis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Despite sufficient basic and experimental knowledge and evidence, the step from bench to bedside has not been successfully performed. Only a limited number of clinical studies are available that can give convincing evidence for the use of antioxidants in the clinical setting of acute pancreatitis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Future studies are required to evaluate potential benefits of antioxidative substances to attenuate the severity of acute pancreatitis. Special focus should be put on the aspect of pain generation and the progression from mild to severe acute pancreatitis in the clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hackert
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Werner
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species