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Antioxidant treatment in hereditary pancreatitis. A pilot study on three young patients
G Uomo1, G Talamini, P G Rabitti
1Internal Medicine Department, Cardarelli Hospital, Naples, Italy. uomogir@libero.it
Insights
Antioxidant treatment significantly reduced abdominal pain days in young hereditary pancreatitis patients. This therapy, including specific vitamins and selenium, offers a promising approach for managing this rare condition.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Pediatric Medicine
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Hereditary pancreatitis presents significant challenges, primarily severe abdominal pain.
- Current treatments rely heavily on analgesics, often requiring high doses in pediatric patients.
- No definitive therapy currently exists for hereditary pancreatitis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of an oral antioxidant regimen in managing abdominal pain in young hereditary pancreatitis patients.
- To explore the role of oxidative stress in hereditary pancreatitis pain.
Main Methods:
- An open-label, two-year pilot study involving three young patients from the same family.
- Patients alternated between standard analgesic treatment and treatment supplemented with an antioxidant regimen.
- The antioxidant regimen included S-adenosylmethionine, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and selenium.
Main Results:
- Patient compliance was satisfactory with no significant side effects observed.
- The antioxidant treatment periods showed a statistically significant reduction in days experiencing abdominal pain (p<0.05).
- Analgesic consumption was lower during periods of antioxidant treatment.
Conclusions:
- Oxidative stress is implicated as a key factor in hereditary pancreatitis pain.
- Oral antioxidant therapy demonstrates potential effectiveness in controlling hereditary pancreatitis symptoms in young patients.
- This antioxidant approach offers a novel strategy for a rare and challenging disease.
Background:
Abdominal pain is the most challenging symptom of hereditary pancreatitis. No specific and proven therapy is yet available; analgesics, often in large doses, are required also in children and young patients.
Patients And Methods:
We performed an open-label, pilot study on three young patients, coming from the same kindred, with hereditary pancreatitis. The study period lasted two years (July 1997-July 1999) and was divided into four sub-periods of six months each. In the first and third period the patients took only oral analgesics, if necessary; in the second and fourth period, an antioxidant regimen per os was added. This treatment consisted of sulphadenosyl-methionine (800 mg per day), Vitamin C (180 mg per day), Vitamin E (30 mg per day), Vitamin A (2,400 microg per day), and selenium (75 microg 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 experienced by the three patients and this was verified for both periods of treatment. Albeit, consumption of analgesics was lower in the antioxidant treatment periods.
Conclusions:
Oxidative stress may be one of the principle contributors to pain in hereditary pancreatitis and orally administered antioxidant treatment appears to be effective for control of the condition, in young patients, suffering from this rare disease.