Chronic pancreatitis: a historical and clinical sketch of the pancreas and pancreatitis.

Chronic pancreatitis (CP), a disease described only in 1946 by Comfort and colleagues is currently a global disease. Chronic alcoholism, albeit is the most frequent etiologic factor for the disease in most of the affluent nations, a form of CP of undetermined etiology, tropical calculous pancreatitis (nutritional pancreatitis, Afro-Asian pancreatitis, or tropical calculous pancreatopathy) has been recognized to be prevalent in many developing nations. Hereditary pancreatitis inherited as an autosomal dominant disease is reported from all parts of the world. A landmark is the recent discovery of a gene that transmits the disease. Nearly 10% of cases of CP are truly "idiopathic" with no identifiable cause. Recent studies indicate that the idiopathic variety of CP has two subsets--a juvenile form and a senile or late onset form, with distinct clinical features. It is extremely rare to see CP secondary to hyperlipidemia or hypercalcemia. These etiologic associations appear to be overemphasized. Epidemiological studies indicate that alcoholism is growing in incidence all over the world along with an increase in all alcohol-associated disorders such as cirrhosis of the liver or pancreatitis. A genetic predisposition to alcoholic pancreatitis is suspected based on population studies, but not proven. The influence of cigarette smoking in enhancing alcohol-induced injury to the pancreas underscores the health hazard associated with alcoholism and cigarette smoking--two habits that often coexist in many individuals. The recent finding that all forms of CP are premalignant further emphasizes the need to enforce preventive measures. The hope is that CP is a preventable disease. The despair is that alcoholism is increasing and spreads across geographic and religious boundaries.