Published online May 15, 2014. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v5.i2.82
Revised: April 4, 2014
Accepted: April 25, 2014
Published online: May 15, 2014
Processing time: 204 Days and 2.7 Hours
Alcohol is a major cause of chronic pancreatitis. About 5% of alcoholics will ever suffer from pancreatitis, suggesting that additional co-factors are required to trigger an overt disease. Experimental work has implicated lipopolysaccharide, from gut-derived bacteria, as a potential co-factor of alcoholic pancreatitis. This review discusses the effects of alcohol on the gut flora, the gut barrier, the liver-and the pancreas and proposes potential interventional strategies. A better understanding of the interaction between the gut, the liver and the pancreas may provide valuable insight into the pathophysiology of alcoholic pancreatitis.
Core tip: There is now clear clinical and experimental evidence that bacteria and bacterial products (such as endotoxin) are associated with complications of pancreatitis. Furthermore, results of animal studies support the concept that bacterial endotoxin is an important factor in the initiation and progression of alcoholic pancreatitis.