title: Latest advances in chronic pancreatitis.
abstract: This article summarizes some of the recent and clinically relevant advances in chronic pancreatitis. These advances mainly concern the definition of the disease, the etiological diagnosis of idiopathic disease, the correlation between fibrosis degree and pancreatic secretion in the early stages of chronic pancreatitis, the treatment of the disease and of pain, the clinical relevance of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, and the diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis. A new mechanistic definition of chronic pancreatitis has been proposed. Genetic testing is mainly of help in patients with relapsing idiopathic pancreatitis. A significant correlation has been shown between the degree of pancreatic fibrosis as evaluated by elastography and pancreatic secretion of bicarbonate. New data supports the efficacy of antioxidants and simvastatin for the therapy of chronic pancreatitis. The pancreatoscopy-guided intraductal lithotripsy is an effective alternative to extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy in patients with chronic calcifying pancreatitis. The presence of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency in patients with chronic pancreatitis is associated with a significant risk of cardiovascular events. Fine needle biopsy and contrast enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasonography are of help for the diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis and its differential diagnosis with pancreatic cancer.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Aparato Digestivo, Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias de Santiago (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago, Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, España. Electronic address: enriquedominguezmunoz@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Enrique Domínguez-Muñoz
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D010188:Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008096:Lithotripsy; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases; D010195:Pancreatitis; D050500:Pancreatitis, Chronic / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Antioxidant therapy; Autoimmune pancreatitis; Biopsia con aguja fina; Ecografía endoscópica; Elastografía; Elastography; Endoscopic ultrasound; Fine needle biopsy; Genetic testing; Insuficiencia pancreática exocrina; Pancreatic exocrine insufficiency; Pancreatitis autoinmune; Pancreatoscopia; Peroral pancreatoscopy; Tests genéticos; Tratamiento antioxidante