The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point

Archive for the 'Pancreas' Category

Negative results giving probiotics in pancreatitis

Saturday, August 30th, 2008

In patients predicted to have severe acute pancreatitis, giving probiotics didn’t reduce the risk of infection, according to this study by researchers in the Dutch Acute Pancreatitis Study Group. (more…)

Saw palmetto-induced pancreatitis?

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

A case of pancreatitis in a 55-year-old man with alcoholism who had been sober for more than 15 years was published in the Southern Medical Journal. The authors make a circumstantial case for his ongoing use of saw palmetto and the occurrence of pancreatitis.

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Bad results with probiotics reported during treatment of pancreatitis

Sunday, February 3rd, 2008

Researchers at the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands, reported more deaths when patients suffering from severe acute pancreatitis were treated with probiotics compared to placebo. (more…)

Yoga improves quality of life in patients with chronic pancreatitis

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

Chronic pancreatitis is most often caused by alcoholism and alcohol abuse. The ability to get these patients to commit and stick with yoga classes twice weekly for 12 weeks is a major accomplishment. Improved quality of life is a bonus.

Here are the results from two studies.

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Current status of probiotics to treat gastrointestinal infections

Saturday, October 7th, 2006

There have been lots of posts here on probiotics and their effects in a wide range of infections of the GI tract. Probiotics are an appealing concept given their favorable safety profiles.

Now, a summary of clinical trials has been published.

Here are the findings.

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Vitamin D protects from cancer of the pancreas

Tuesday, September 12th, 2006

Laboratory studies show that there are up to three times more vitamin D receptors on pancreatic cancer cells than on normal pancreas cells. Moreover, the exposure to high concentrations of vitamin D(3) reduces the number of pancreatic cancer cells.

Now, the results from an epidemiological survey confirm the relationship between vitamin D and cancer of the pancreas.

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