EXOCRINE PANCREATIC-SECRETION IN NORMAL CONTROLS AND CHRONIC CALCIFYING PANCREATITIS PATIENTS FROM BURUNDI - POSSIBLE DIETARY INFLUENCES

Pure pancreatic juice composition was studied, after secretin and ceru lein stimulation in 29 people from Burundi (Central Africa): 17 contro ls and 12 alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients. Results were c ompared to similar data in France. African controls had a similar panc reatic response to hormones apart from a much lower lipase secretion t han French controls. In the early noncalcified stage of African CP wat er and bicarbonate secretion were markedly diminished while protein an d lipase concentrations were enhanced. In the late stage, secretion wa s exhausted except that of calcium. Nutritional data were obtained und er the same conditions in 40 African controls and in 34 CP patients (i ncluding all patients tested for secretion). African controls had a ve ry low fat intake (35.2 +/- 2.6 g/day), and patients had a higher prot ein and fat intake (144.7 +/- 5.9 and 66.2 +/- 4.8 g/day, respectively ) than local controls: as in other countries, CP was associated with a diet enriched in alcohol, fat and protein.