Alcoholic pancreatitis

Abstract

Although further work is needed for understanding the mechanism of the action of alcohol on the pancreas, it can be admitted that in man, the rat and the dog, chronic alcohol consumption leads to precipitation of proteins in the juice and the ducts. When these precipitates are observed, an alteration of the protein to bicarbonate ratio is always found, as a result of an increase in protein concentration or a decrease in bicarbonate concentration, or both, It is reasonable to assume that an increased cholinergic tone is responsible for the increased secretion of protein. The decrease in bicarbonate secretion is not explained. It is worthwhile mentioning that, in hypercalcaemic dogs, protein precipitates are found in the juice associated with an increased concentration of protein and a decreased concentration of bicarbonate. It is known that hypercalcaemia (hyperparathyroidism) is a cause of chronic calcifying pancreatitis (noel-Jorand et al, 1981b).