[Pancreatitis, genes and islet cells auto transplant; updates and new horizons]

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that can progress from an acute presentation to an acute recurring presentation and eventually to chronic pancreatitis, which is characterized by irreversible morphological changes and scarring of the pancreas. The entity known as hereditary pancreatitis has been recognized in the literature for years and certainly the discovery of the PRSS1 gene in 1996 marked the beginning of a new era of genetic discoveries associated with the disease. Since then, multiple genes have been described as the causing agents of pancreatitis or disease modifiers, some of the most important ones being the PRSS1, SPINK1, CFTR, CASR, CTRC, CLDN2, and CPA1. The patient selection process for genetic testing should be guided by the current experts' recommendations and should meet specific corresponding criteria. Once the diagnosis has been made, treatment should be tailored to each patient's particular needs. Certainly, the advent of the total pancreatectomy with auto islet cell transplantation, which has the main goal to improve the pain caused by the chronic pancreatitis and simultaneously reduce the severity of the pancreatectomy induced diabetes, is an attractive alternative in the treatment and management of patient with a diagnosis of hereditary pancreatitis. However, strict criteria and an interdisciplinary management are essential since this surgery is irreversible and carries lifetime health consequences that all patients must be aware of and the medical team must be able to early recognize these and treat accordingly. However, there are many potential areas in this field for more, better and forefront research to be developed aiming for a better understanding of the disease process and for the development of a cure.