title: Alcoholic pancreatitis: A tale of spirits and bacteria.
abstract: Alcohol is a major cause of chronic pancreatitis. About 5% of alcoholics will ever suffer from pancreatitis, suggesting that additional co-factors are required to trigger an overt disease. Experimental work has implicated lipopolysaccharide, from gut-derived bacteria, as a potential co-factor of alcoholic pancreatitis. This review discusses the effects of alcohol on the gut flora, the gut barrier, the liver-and the pancreas and proposes potential interventional strategies. A better understanding of the interaction between the gut, the liver and the pancreas may provide valuable insight into the pathophysiology of alcoholic pancreatitis.
authors.affiliation: Alain Vonlaufen, Gastroenterology Unit, Hôpital de la Tour, 1217 Meyrin/Genève, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vonlaufen
authors.affiliation: Alain Vonlaufen, Gastroenterology Unit, Hôpital de la Tour, 1217 Meyrin/Genève, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spahr
authors.affiliation: Alain Vonlaufen, Gastroenterology Unit, Hôpital de la Tour, 1217 Meyrin/Genève, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Minoti V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Apte
authors.affiliation: Alain Vonlaufen, Gastroenterology Unit, Hôpital de la Tour, 1217 Meyrin/Genève, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Frossard
keywords: Alcohol; Bacteria; Endotoxin; Fibrosis; Lipopolysaccharide; Pancreatitis