Antioxidants for pancreatitis

[Guest guest]

Hi,

Any of our older members know this information about antioxidant therapy,

since I've shared it many times, and my belief that it has significantly he=

lped

my pancreas pain. I've been using these antioxidants since a few months

after my initial diagnosis in 2001. The antioxidants are certainly not a

cure-all, and don't work as well for some as they do for others. My doctor=

knows that I take the antioxidants and fully endorses this.

I've noticed an increase in my pain levels during the times when I have bee=

n

out of my supply of antioxidants, and an additional increase in levels of

depression, so much so that I do not let a day go without them. Now that

antioxidants are again being discussed, I will reprint the article that exp=

lains

the therapy that I follow and it's benefits. Information about this therap=

y is

printed on the web at the following site:

http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band5/b5-4.html

Drug Watch: Antioxidant Therapy for Recurrent Pancreatitis

There is little to offer patients with recurrent pancreatitis in way of tre=

atment.

These patients suffer considerable pain, and about the only measure that wi=

ll

guarantee long-term pain relief is near-total pancreatectomy - which carrie=

s

the penalties of malabsorption and brittle diabetes. Though the number of

patients with chronic pancreatitis will be small across the UK, there may b=

e

pockets of relatively high prevalence, largely in deprived areas. These

patients will consume significant amounts of health service resources - eve=

n

more if near-total pancreatectomy is carried out. Any therapy which can be =

shown to be effective in chronic pancreatitis will therefore have an impact=

on

healthcare provision.

Causes of pancreatitis

There is accumulating evidence that oxidant stress resulting from an excess=

of pro-oxidant over antioxidant has a key role in acute oedematous

pancreatitis as well as painful exacerbations of chronic disease. Cytokines=

like

platelet activation factor (PAF) have also been shown to be involved with

development of the acute disease in animal models, but it is likely that th=

e

prime insult which triggers pancreatitis is oxidant stress.

Antioxidant therapy?

From this, it would seem likely that therapy with antioxidants should help =

to

prevent pancreatitis - especially recurrent pancreatitis. A randomised,

controlled, double-blind, double dummy, crossover study from the

Manchester Royal Infirmary has shown this to be the case. Twenty patients

with chronic pancreatitis (8 idiopathic, 7 alcoholic and 5 idiopathic acute=

)

entered the study in which micronutrient antioxidant therapy was compared

with placebo, each for a 20-week period. Patients took six tablets of selen=

ium

Ace (Wassen International) and eight tablets of methionine ( Medical

Ltd) in divided doses, giving a daily total of:

* 600 µg organic selenium

* 9000 IU beta-carotene

* 0.54 g vitamin C

* 270 IU vitamin E

* 2 g methionine

Results

This was a thorough and detailed study. The bare-bones of the results were =

that while six patients had an attack while on placebo, not one had an atta=

ck

while on active medication. Pain scores were significantly lower on active =

treatment than on placebo and at baseline. The blood concentrations of a

free radical 'marker' - the percentage molar ratio of 9,11-linoleic acid to=

9,12-linoleic acid - were elevated at baseline and in patients on placebo, =

but

was normalised by active treatment.

Reference:

S Uden et al. Antioxidant therapy for recurrent pancreatitis: placebo contr=

olled

trial. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 1990 4: 357-71.

Questions to be Answered

Q: What need is met by this therapy?

A: Treatment of patients with chronic or recurrent acute pancreatitis.

Q: What happens now?

A: Patients are treated with analgesics, or may go on to near-total

pancreatectomy resulting in malabsorption and diabetes.

Q: Is quality improved?

A: Yes - patients on this treatment do not have pain.

Q: What does the treatment cost?

A: Less than £15 per month per patient.

Q: Can cost savings be made?

A: Yes - though not quantified, the cost of treatment with antioxidants is =

likely

to be much less than present treatments.

Hope this helps answer anyone's questions about antioxidants for

pancreatitis.

With hope and prayers,

Heidi

Heidi H. Griffeth

South Carolina

SC & SE Regional Rep.

PAI, Intl.

Note: All comments or advice are personal opinion only, and should not be =

substituted for professional medical consultation.