Published in:
01-07-2008 | Original Article
Cigarette smoke-induced pancreatic damage—experimental data
Published in: Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery | Issue 4/2008
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Background and aims
Epidemiological data clearly indicate that cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk for developing chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer. Despite of this clear epidemiological correlation, cigarette smoke-induced pancreatic damage has only been investigated in a small number of experimental studies.
Methods
Experimental studies examining the effect of cigarette smoke or cigarette smoke constituents on the pancreas were reviewed.
Results
Recent data indicate that smoking also induces chronic pancreatic inflammation in rodents within a period of 12 weeks upon exposure with environmental cigarette smoke. Supported by the finding that morphologic pancreatic damage is also induced by nicotine treatment, cigarette smoke-induced pancreatic damage is likely to be caused by a disturbance of regulation of exocrine pancreas. The morphological alterations, however, induced by nicotine, are less pronounced and therefore, other substances and pathophysiologic mechanisms, such as carcinogen action or cigarette smoke-induced reduction of anti-protease activity, are likely to aggravate pancreatic damage upon cigarette smoke inhalation.
Conclusion
These data indicate that several constituents of cigarette smoke induce a disturbance of pancreatic function. This multifactorial event induces morphologic pancreatic damage upon cigarette smoke exposure in rodents.