Predictive value of renal shear wave elastography in liver cirrhosis.

Background: In liver cirrhosis, prognosis is profoundly affected by renal function. This study evaluates the usefulness of renal stiffness measurement by point-shear wave elastography and renal perfusion by duplex.

Methods: In this case-control study, organ stiffness was quantified using point-shear wave elastography and duplex sonography to calculate the arterial resistive (RI) and pulsatility indices (PI) in 123 patients, including patients with liver cirrhosis with (LC+A) and without ascites (LC-A) and patients without liver cirrhosis (NLC).

Point-shear wave elastography generated by acoustic radiation force impulse in chronic pancreatitis.

Background: Transcutaneous point-shear wave elastography (p-SWE) performed using an acoustic radiation force impulse can be used to quantify pancreatic stiffness in chronic pancreatitis (CP). We aimed to evaluate its usefulness to diagnose and monitor CP.

Methods: 175 participants were included in this prospective study including patients with CP (n = 65), liver cirrhosis (LC; n = 60), alcohol abuse (n = 10) and healthy controls (n = 40).

Type 1 Autoimmune Pancreatitis in Europe: Clinical Profile and Response to Treatment.

Background & Aims: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is an immune-mediated disease of the pancreas with distinct pathophysiology and manifestations. Our aims were to characterize type 1 AIP in a large pan-European cohort and study the effectiveness of current treatment regimens.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed adults diagnosed since 2005 with type 1 or not-otherwise-specified AIP in 42 European university hospitals.

Impact of alcohol and smoking cessation on the course of chronic pancreatitis.

Objectives: Alcohol and nicotine are the two most important risk factors of chronic pancreatitis, and they often occur together. It is still unclear how much they influence the severity of the disease and which of the two addictions should be treated with priority.

Methods: We performed a single-center, retrospective, cross-sectional study in a mixed medicosurgical cohort of 870 patients diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis (CP).

Targeting the Cancer-Neuronal Crosstalk in the Pancreatic Cancer Microenvironment.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) represents one of the most aggressive solid tumors with a dismal prognosis and an increasing incidence. At the time of diagnosis, more than 85% of patients are in an unresectable stage. For these patients, chemotherapy can prolong survival by only a few months.

Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection of a Giant Rectal Adenoma Manifesting as McKittrick-Wheelock Syndrome.

McKittrick-Wheelock syndrome (MKWS) is an uncommon clinical manifestation of large, villous, epithelial lesions of the distal colon and rectum. Excessive secretion of electrolyte-rich mucus from these lesions leads to secretory diarrhea, electrolyte disorders and acute renal failure. Several cases of MKWS have been reported since its initial description in 1954.

Impact of etiology on disease course in chronic pancreatitis.

Background: Complications in chronic pancreatitis (CP) can be grouped in inflammatory (ICC) and fibrotic (FCC) clusters and pancreatic insufficiency cluster (PIC). However, the association between etiological risk factors and the development of complication clusters remains obscure. In this study, the impact of the etiology and disease duration on disease onset and development of complications was investigated.

Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis caused by Listeria monocytogenes: A rare infection with very high leukocyte counts in ascitic fluid-case report and review of the literature.

We present a rare case of Listeria monocytogenes-induced spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in cirrhosis. Examination of the patient's peritoneal fluid revealed an extremely high leukocyte count. We suspect, that the patient belongs to 1% of individuals in which Listeria monocytogenes is part of the intestinal flora.

Genetic Mouse Models to Study Pancreatic Cancer-Induced Pain and Reduction in Well-Being.

In addition to the poor prognosis, excruciating abdominal pain is a major challenge in pancreatic cancer. Neurotropism appears to be the underlying mechanism leading to neuronal invasion. However, there is a lack of animal models suitable for translationally bridging in vitro findings with clinical trials.

[Prevention of gastrointestinal cancer].

Throughout the past decades, considerable progress has been made in the (early) diagnosis and treatment of gastrointestinal cancers. However, the prognosis for advanced stages of gastrointestinal tumors remains limited for many patients and approximately one third of all tumor patients die as a result of gastrointestinal tumors. The prevention and early detection of gastrointestinal tumors is therefore of great importance.

Association between Pancreatic Burnout and Liver Cirrhosis in Alcoholic Chronic Pancreatitis.

Background/objectives: In chronic pancreatitis (CP), progressive fibrosis of the pancreas leads to exocrine and endocrine insufficiency and, finally, to pancreatic burnout. Alcohol consumption is associated with fibrosis in the pancreas and the liver, and the activation of stellate cells plays a central role in the induction of fibrosis in both organs. However, the relationship between pancreatic burnout and liver cirrhosis (LC) is still poorly understood in patients with alcoholic CP (ACP).

Pain Management in Chronic Pancreatitis: Summary of Clinical Practice, Current Challenges and Potential Contribution of the M-ANNHEIM Classification.

Abdominal pain, diarrhea with weight loss, and endocrine insufficiency represent the dominant symptoms of chronic pancreatitis (CP). High intensity of pain and constant pain have been shown to reduce quality of life in CP and may result in disability and increased health resource utilization. Various basic challenges and unanswered questions still exist regarding the treatment of pain in CP.

Mechanical sensitization, increased axonal excitability, and spontaneous activity in C-nociceptors after ultraviolet B irradiation in pig skin.

Ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation induces hyperalgesia in human and animal pain models. We investigated mechanical sensitization, increase in axonal excitability, and spontaneous activity in different C-nociceptor classes after UVB in pig skin. We focused on units with receptive fields covering both irradiated and nonirradiated skin allowing intraindividual comparisons.

Maximum axonal following frequency separates classes of cutaneous unmyelinated nociceptors in the pig.

Key Points: C-nociceptors are generally assumed to have a low maximum discharge frequency of 10-30 Hz. However, only mechano-insensitive 'silent' C-nociceptors cannot follow electrical stimulation at 5 Hz (75 pulses) whereas polymodal C-nociceptors in the pig follow stimulation at up to 100 Hz without conduction failure. Sensitization by nerve growth factor increases the maximum following frequency of 'silent' nociceptors in pig skin and might thereby contribute in particular to intense pain sensations in chronic inflammation.

Acid suppression therapy, gastrointestinal bleeding and infection in acute pancreatitis - An international cohort study.

Background: Acid suppressing drugs (ASD) are generally used in acute pancreatitis (AP); however, large cohorts are not available to understand their efficiency and safety. Therefore, our aims were to evaluate the association between the administration of ASDs, the outcome of AP, the frequency of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding and GI infection in patients with AP.

Methods: We initiated an international survey and performed retrospective data analysis on AP patients hospitalized between January 2013 and December 2018.

CXCL10 and CCL21 Promote Migration of Pancreatic Cancer Cells Toward Sensory Neurons and Neural Remodeling in Tumors in Mice, Associated With Pain in Patients.

Background & Aims: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is frequently accompanied by excruciating pain, which has been associated with attraction of cancer cells and their invasion of intrapancreatic sensory nerves. Neutralization of the chemokine CCL2 reduced cancer-associated pain in a clinical trial, but there have been no systematic analyses of the highly diverse chemokine families and their receptors in PDAC.

Methods: We performed an open, unbiased RNA-interference screen of mammalian chemokines in co-cultures of mouse PDAC cells (K8484) and mouse peripheral sensory neurons, and confirmed findings in studies of DT8082 PDAC cells.

Analysis of the Course of Chronic Pancreatitis: Pancreatic Burnout Rates Are Only Increased in a Subgroup of Patients With Alcoholic Chronic Pancreatitis.

Objectives: The pancreatic burnout hypothesis postulated an increasing absence of pain with simultaneous functional insufficiency in advanced stages of chronic pancreatitis (CP). However, the underlying data remain scarce and contradictory. We aimed to analyze, first, the frequency of a pancreatic burnout in CP, and, second, its association with etiological risk factors.

Clinical Course of Chronic Pancreatitis in Elderly Patients.

Background: Several guidelines recommend the risk-adapted monitoring of patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). However, dedicated risk stratification is widely missing in CP. Elderly-CP (disease onset with 60 or more years of age) may represent a subgroup of CP subjects with a distinct course of disease.

Clinical evaluation of the M-ANNHEIM classification: Development of the M-ANNHEIM-Surgery-Score as a new tool to monitor patients with chronic pancreatitis.

Objectives:  The M-ANNHEIM classification of chronic pancreatitis (CP) stratifies degrees of disease severity according to the M-ANNHEIM-Severity-Score. We aimed to demonstrate the clinical usefulness of the M-ANNHEIM-Severity-Score in quantifying and predicting the frequency of pancreatic surgery, and to establish the M-ANNHEIM-Surgery-Score as a simplified system for patient surveillance regarding the demand of pancreatic surgery.

Methods:  We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study with 741 CP patients (Mannheim/Germany, n = 537; Gießen/Germany, n = 100; Donetsk/Ukraine, n = 104) categorized according to the M-ANNHEIM classification.

Prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease in alcoholic, non-alcoholic and autoimmune pancreatitis.

Objectives: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) frequently reveal features of pancreatic inflammation. However, the prevalence of IBD in patients with alcoholic pancreatitis (AP) and nonalcoholic pancreatitis (NAP) has not yet been determined, and the prevalence of IBD in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis (AiP) from Germany is unknown.

Aims: Thus, we aimed, first, to determine the prevalence of IBD in AP, NAP, and AiP from a tertiary center in Germany and, second, to characterize patients with AiP and IBD.

Monitoring and predicting disease activity in autoimmune pancreatitis with the M-ANNHEIM-AiP-Activity-Score.

Background & Objectives: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AiP) is treated by immunosuppressive therapy. Exact description of disease activity of AiP is essential in clinical practice and research, but a score to describe the disease activity is missing. Thus, we aimed to establish an activity score of AiP.

Prevalence and Incidence of Autoimmune Pancreatitis in the Population Living in the Southwest of Germany.

Background/aims: The prevalence and incidence of autoimmune pancreatitis (AiP) in those living in western countries are largely unknown. We aimed to determine the prevalence of AiP among patients with pancreatitis presenting to our tertiary referral center in Mannheim, Germany; and to estimate the incidence of AiP in the Southwest of Germany.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cross-sectional analysis and determined the prevalence of AiP in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) or chronic pancreatitis (CP).

A mouse model for pain and neuroplastic changes associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) continues to be one of the deadliest human malignancies and is associated with excruciating pain, which is a serious complication and severely impacts the quality of life in patients. In human patients, poor survival prognosis is linked to remarkable remodeling of intrapancreatic nerves, which, in turn, is correlated to increased pain intensity. Understanding mechanisms underlying pain associated with PDAC has been hampered by the lack of animal models which replicate all germane aspects of the disease and importantly, enable analyses of pain associated with PDAC.