Antioxidant treatment in hereditary pancreatitis. A pilot study on three young patients

Background. Abdominal pain is the most challenging symptom of hereditary pa ncreatitis. No specific and proven therapy is yet available; analgesics, of ten in large doses, are required also in children and young patients. Patients and Methods. We performed an open-label, pilot study on three youn g patients, coming from the same kindred, with hereditary pancreatitis. The study period lasted two years (July 1997-July 1999) and was divided into f our sub-periods of six months each. In the first and third period the patie nts took only oral analgesics, if necessary; in the second and fourth perio d, an antioxidant regimen per os was added. This treatment consisted of sul phadenosyl-methionine (800 mg per day), Vitamin C (180 mg per day), Vitamin E (30 mg per day), Vitamin A (2400 mug per day), and selenium (75 mug per day). Results. Compliance of patients to the treatment schedule was satisfactory and no important side-effects were observed. Antioxidant treatment led to a significant reduction (p<0.05) in the number of days with abdominal pain e xperienced by the three patients and this was verified for both periods of treatment. Albeit, consumption of analgesics was lower in the antioxidant t reatment periods. Conclusions. Oxidative stress may be one of the principle contributors to p ain in hereditary pancreatitis and orally administered antioxidant treatmen t appears to be effective for control of the condition, in young patients, suffering from this rare disease.