Made by DATEXIS (Data Science and Text-based Information Systems) at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin
Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
Funded by The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Grant: 01MD19013D, Smart-MD Project, Digital Technologies
AIP often completely resolves with steroid treatment. The failure to differentiate AIP from malignancy may lead to unnecessary pancreatic resection, and the characteristic lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate of AIP has been found in up to 23% of patients undergoing pancreatic resection for suspected malignancy who are ultimately found to have benign disease. In this subset of patients, a trial of steroid therapy may have prevented a Whipple procedure or complete pancreatectomy for a benign disease which responds well to medical therapy. "This benign disease resembles pancreatic carcinoma both clinically and radiographically. The diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis is challenging to make. However, accurate and timely diagnosis may preempt the misdiagnosis of cancer and decrease the number of unnecessary pancreatic resections." Autoimmune pancreatitis responds dramatically to corticosteroid treatment.
If relapse occurs after corticosteroid treatment or corticosteroid treatment is not tolerated, immunomodulators may be used. Immunomodulators such as azathioprine, and 6-mercaptopurine have been shown to extend remission of autoimmune pancreatitis after corticosteroid treatment. If corticosteroid and immunomodulator treatments are not sufficient, rituximab may also be used. Rituximab has been shown to induce and maintain remission.
As the number of published cases of AIP has increased, efforts have been focused on defining AIP as a distinct clinical and pathologic entity and toward developing some generally agreed upon diagnostic criteria and nomenclature. Terms frequently encountered are autoimmune or autoimmune-related pancreatitis, lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis, idiopathic tumefactive chronic pancreatitis, idiopathic pancreatitis with focal irregular narrowing of the main pancreatic duct, and non-alcoholic duct destructive chronic pancreatitis. There are also a large number of case reports employing descriptive terminology such as pancreatitis associated with Sjögren’s syndrome, primary sclerosing cholangitis, or inflammatory bowel disease. Some of the earliest cases were reported as pancreatic pseudotumor or pseudolymphoma.
Treatments for autoimmune disease have traditionally been immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory, or palliative. Managing inflammation is critical in autoimmune diseases. Non-immunological therapies, such as hormone replacement in Hashimoto's thyroiditis or Type 1 diabetes mellitus treat outcomes of the autoaggressive response, thus these are palliative treatments. Dietary manipulation limits the severity of celiac disease. Steroidal or NSAID treatment limits inflammatory symptoms of many diseases. IVIG is used for CIDP and GBS. Specific immunomodulatory therapies, such as the TNFα antagonists (e.g. etanercept), the B cell depleting agent rituximab, the anti-IL-6 receptor tocilizumab and the costimulation blocker abatacept have been shown to be useful in treating RA. Some of these immunotherapies may be associated with increased risk of adverse effects, such as susceptibility to infection.
Helminthic therapy is an experimental approach that involves inoculation of the patient with specific parasitic intestinal nematodes (helminths). There are currently two closely related treatments available, inoculation with either Necator americanus, commonly known as hookworms, or Trichuris Suis Ova, commonly known as Pig Whipworm Eggs.
T cell vaccination is also being explored as a possible future therapy for autoimmune disorders.
According to the hygiene hypothesis, high levels of cleanliness expose children to fewer antigens than in the past, causing their immune systems to become overactive and more likely to misidentify own tissues as foreign, resulting in autoimmune conditions such as asthma.
Vitamin D/Sunlight
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Probiotics/Microflora
Antioxidants
There are no approved treatments for canine pancreatitis. Treatment for this disease is supportive, and may require hospitialization to attend to the dog's nutritional and fluid needs, pain management, and addressing any other disease processes (infection, diabetes, etc.) while letting the pancreas heal on its own. Treatment often involves "resting" the pancreas for a short period of time by nil per os/nothing per os (NPO)/nil by mouth (NBM), in which the patient receives no food or fluids by mouth, but is fed and hydrated by intravenous fluids and a feeding tube. Dehydration is also managed by the use of fluid therapy. However, a specialist from Texas A&M University has stated "There is no evidence whatsoever that withholding food has any beneficial effect." Other specialists have agreed with his opinion.
Canine pancreatitis is complex, often limiting the ability to approach the disease.
Treatment may involve the prescription of immunosuppressive glucocorticoids such as prednisone, with or without azathioprine, and remission can be achieved in up to 60–80% of cases, although many will eventually experience a relapse. Budesonide has been shown to be more effective in inducing remission than prednisone, and result in fewer adverse effects. Those with autoimmune hepatitis who do not respond to glucocorticoids and azathioprine may be given other immunosuppressives like mycophenolate, ciclosporin, tacrolimus, methotrexate, etc. Liver transplantation may be required if patients do not respond to drug therapy or when patients present with fulminant liver failure.
A low fat diet is indicated. The use of drugs which are known to have an association with pancreatitis should be avoided. Some patients benefit from the use of pancreatic enzymes on a supplemental basis. One study indicated that 57 percent of dogs, who were followed for six months after an acute pancreatitis attack, either continued to exhibit inflammation of the organ or had decreased acinar cell function, even though they had no pancreatitis symptoms.
The first estimate of US prevalence for autoimmune diseases as a group was published in 1997 by Jacobson, et al. They reported US prevalence to be around 9 million, applying prevalence estimates for 24 diseases to a US population of 279 million. Jacobson's work was updated by Hayter & Cook in 2012. This study used Witebsky's postulates, as revised by Rose & Bona, to extend the list to 81 diseases and estimated overall cumulative US prevalence for the 81 autoimmune diseases at 5.0%, with 3.0% for males and 7.1% for females. The estimated community
prevalence, which takes into account the observation that many people have more than one autoimmune disease, was 4.5% overall, with 2.7% for males and 6.4% for females.
Autoimmune hepatitis is not a benign disease. Despite a good initial response to immunosuppression, recent studies suggest that the life expectancy of patients with autoimmune hepatitis is lower than that of the general population. Additionally, presentation and response to therapy appears to differ according to race. For instance, African Americans appear to present with a more aggressive disease that is associated with worse outcomes.
The different treatment options for management of chronic pancreatitis are medical measures, therapeutic endoscopy and surgery. Treatment is directed, when possible, to the underlying cause, and to relieve pain and malabsorption. Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus may occur and need long term insulin therapy. The abdominal pain can be very severe and require high doses of analgesics, sometimes including opiates. Alcohol cessation and dietary modifications (low-fat diet) are important to manage pain and slow the calcific process. Antioxidants may help but it is unclear if the benefits are meaningful.
Pancreatic enzyme replacement is often effective in treating the malabsorption and steatorrhea associated with chronic pancreatitis. Treatment of CP consists of administration of a solution of pancreatic enzymes with meals. Some patients do have pain reduction with enzyme replacement and since they are relatively safe, giving enzyme replacement to a chronic pancreatitis patient is an acceptable step in treatment for most patients. Treatment may be more likely to be successful in those without involvement of large ducts and those with idiopathic pancreatitis.
Adenocarcinoma of the bowel has been associated with coeliac disease.
GSE, particularly coeliac disease, increases the risk of cancers of specific types. There are two predominant cancers associated with coeliac disease, cancer of the esophagus and lymphoproliferative diseases such as gluten-sensitive enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL). For non-EATL cancers it is thought the mineralemias such as zinc and selenium may play a role in increasing risk. GSE associated cancers are invariably associated with advanced coeliac disease, however, in de-novo EATL, the cancer is frequently detected in advance of the coeliac diagnosis, also EATL is the most common neoplasm.
There are seven classes of medications associated with acute pancreatitis: statins, ACE inhibitors, oral contraceptives/hormone replacement therapy (HRT), diuretics, antiretroviral therapy, valproic acid, and oral hypoglycemic agents. Mechanisms of these drugs causing panreatitis are not known exactly; but it is possible that statins has direct toxic effect on the pancreas or through the long term accumulation of toxic metabolites. Meanwhile, ACE inhibitors causes angioedema of the pancreas through the accumulation of bradykinin. Oral contraceptives/HRT causes arterial thrombosis of the pancreas through the accumulation of fat (hypertriglyceridemia). Diuretics such as furosemide has direct toxic effect on the pancreas. Meanwhile, thiazide diuretics causes hypertriglyceridemia and hypercalcemia, where the latter is the risk factor for pancreatic stones. HIV infection itself can cause a person to more likely to get pancreatitis. Meanwhile, antiretroviral drugs may cause metabolic disturbances such as hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia, which predisposes to pancreatitis. Valproic acid may have direct toxic effect on the pancreas. There are various oral hypoglycemic agents that contributes to pancreatitis including metformin. But, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is more strongly associated with pancreatits by promoting inflammation.
Atypical antipsychotics such as clozapine, risperidone, and olanzapine can also cause pancreatitis.
A 2009 study which followed 189 patients found no excess mortality despite the increased risk of pancreatic cancer.
The treatment of pancreatitis is supportive and depends on severity. Morphine generally is suitable for pain control. There are no clinical studies to suggest that morphine can aggravate or cause pancreatitis or cholecystitis.
The treatment that is received for acute pancreatitis will depend on whether the diagnosis is for the mild form of the condition, which causes no complications, or the severe form, which can cause serious complications.
Up to 20 percent of patients with acute pancreatitis develop an extrapancreatic infection (e.g., bloodstream infections, pneumonia, and urinary tract infections). Extrapancreatic infections are associated with an increase in mortality. When an infection is suspected, antibiotics should be started while the source of the infection is being determined. However, if cultures are negative and no source of infection is identified, antibiotics should be discontinued.
Prophylactic antibiotics are not recommended in patients with acute pancreatitis, regardless of the type (interstitial or necrotizing) or disease severity (mild, moderately severe, or severe)
Recently, there has been a shift in the management paradigm from TPN (total parenteral nutrition) to early, post-pyloric enteral feeding (in which a feeding tube is endoscopically or radiographically introduced to the third portion of the duodenum). The advantage of enteral feeding is that it is more physiological, prevents gut mucosal atrophy, and is free from the side effects of TPN (such as fungemia). The additional advantages of post-pyloric feeding are the inverse relationship of pancreatic exocrine secretions and distance of nutrient delivery from the pylorus, as well as reduced risk of aspiration.
Disadvantages of a naso-enteric feeding tube include increased risk of sinusitis (especially if the tube remains in place greater than two weeks) and a still-present risk of accidentally intubating the trachea even in intubated patients (contrary to popular belief, the endotracheal tube cuff alone is not always sufficient to prevent NG tube entry into the trachea). Oxygen may be provided in some patients (about 30%) if Pao2 levels fall below 70mm of Hg.
treatment of HP resemble that of chronic pancreatitis of other causes. Treatment focuses on enzyme and nutritional supplementation, pain management, pancreatic diabetes, and local organ complications, such as pseudocysts, bile duct or duodenal obstruction.(PMC1774562)
The pancreas is central in the pathophysiology of both major types of diabetes mellitus. In type 1 diabetes mellitus, there is direct damage to the endocrine pancreas that results in insufficient insulin synthesis and secretion. Type 2 diabetes mellitus, which begins with insulin resistance, is characterized by the ultimate failure of pancreatic β cells to match insulin production with insulin demand.
Treatment for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis includes glucocorticoids (such as prednisolone) and other immunosuppressive drugs (such as azathioprine and cyclophosphamide). In many cases, the disease can be put into a type of chemical remission through drug therapy, but the disease is chronic and lifelong.
A systematic review conducted in 2007 indicated all patients should be treated with high-dose steroids, but in patients with a five-factor score of one or higher, cyclophosphamide pulse therapy should be commenced, with 12 pulses leading to fewer relapses than six. Remission can be maintained with a less toxic drug, such as azathioprine or methotrexate.
On December 12, 2017, the FDA approved mepolizumab, the first drug therapy specifically indicated for the treatment of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Patients taking mepolizumab experienced a "significant improvement" in their symptoms.
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is the inability to properly digest food due to a lack of digestive enzymes made by the pancreas. EPI is found in humans afflicted with cystic fibrosis and Shwachman–Diamond syndrome. It is caused by a progressive loss of the pancreatic cells that make digestive enzymes. Chronic pancreatitis is the most common cause of EPI in humans. Loss of digestive enzymes leads to maldigestion and malabsorption of nutrients.
Generally, the treatment for SIRS is directed towards the underlying problem or inciting cause (i.e. adequate fluid replacement for hypovolemia, IVF/NPO for pancreatitis, epinephrine/steroids/diphenhydramine for anaphylaxis).
Selenium, glutamine, and eicosapentaenoic acid have shown effectiveness in improving symptoms in clinical trials. Other antioxidants such as vitamin E may be helpful as well.
Septic treatment protocol and diagnostic tools have been created due to the potentially severe outcome septic shock. For example, the SIRS criteria were created as mentioned above to be extremely sensitive in suggesting which patients may have sepsis. However, these rules lack specificity, i.e. not a true diagnosis of the condition, but rather a suggestion to take necessary precautions. The SIRS criteria are guidelines set in place to ensure septic patients receive care as early as possible.
In cases caused by an implanted mesh, removal (explantation) of the polypropylene surgical mesh implant may be indicated.
SSC is thought to develop as a consequence of known injuries or pathological processes of the biliary tree, such as biliary obstruction, surgical trauma to the bile duct, or ischemic injury to the biliary tree. Secondary causes of SSC include intraductal stone disease, surgical or blunt abdominal trauma, intra-arterial chemotherapy, and recurrent pancreatitis. It has been clearly demonstrated sclerosing cholangitis can develop after an episode of severe bacterial cholangitis. Also it was suggested that it can result from insult to the biliary tree by obstructive cholangitis secondary to choledocholithiasis, surgical damage, trauma, vascular insults, parasites, or congenital fibrocystic disorders. Additional causes of secondary SC are toxic, due to chemical agents or drugs.