Chronic pancreatitis at Manchester, UK - Focus on antioxidant therapy

The Manchester 'oxidant stress' hypothesis for the development of pancreati tis accommodates published information on both chronic pancreatitis and acu te pancreatitis. Oxidant stress, mainly from reactive xenobiotic metabolite s, is perceived as the pivotal pre-morbid problem in chronic pancreatitis a nd, by depleting glutathione, targets the exocytosis mechanism of the pancr eatic acinar cell. Inhalation exposure to petrochemical products is identif ied as an independent risk factor in patients at Manchester Royal Infirmary , where some 50% of patients referred have non-alcoholic disease. This pape r describes the development of antioxidant therapy, using supplements of me thionine, vitamin C and selenium, and its validation in a placebo-controlle d trial, followed by a retrospective cross-sectional study in 94 consecutiv e patients for an average of 30 months. Antioxidant therapy emerges as a sa fe and effective medical alternative to surgery for painful chronic pancrea titis.