Factors affecting the functioning of the pancreas
This endocrine gland belongs not only to the endocrine system, but also enters the digestive system. The organ has a complex structure. A variety of internal and external factors affect the performance of the pancreas.
Exocrine insufficiency, which occurs due to the replacement of working cells of the pancreas, often leads to pancreatitis, and weak organ activity causes the development of diabetes.
Severe pancreatitis gradually negates the synthesis of insulin and leads to the first type of disease. The second type of ailment causes the body to not respond to the hormone. Factors leading to abnormal changes in the amount of glucose in the body have been noted:
- Hereditary predisposition;
- Congenital pathologies;
- Inflammatory process (pancreatitis) and its complications;
- Various tumors and formations of considerable size, pressing on the pancreas;
- Injury, surgery;
- Adrenal pathology;
- Atherosclerosis, provoked by it failures of blood circulation and nutrition of the tissues of the gland;
- Bad habits;
- Wrong diet;
- Excessive intake of carbohydrates;
- Pregnancy condition.
Also, there are general reasons that determine the predisposition to a decrease in pancreatic function:
- Overweight;
- Failures in the work of other parts of the digestive system (the most often noted relationship with disorders in the work of the gallbladder);
- The impact of viral infections on the organ;
- Parasitic diseases (penetration of worms into the human body);
- Bacterial infections that can cause suppuration of the gland;
- Long-term courses of certain medicinal chemicals;
- Side effects of taking contraceptives;
- Autoimmune disorders.
Dysfunction of the work of such an important organ as the pancreas has serious health consequences, and therefore requires prompt intervention and correction.
Diabetes mellitus and pancreas
The negative effect of diabetes mellitus on the state of the pancreas can manifest itself in the depletion and further deformation of its cells that produce insulin. They can shrink and even die. This can lead to two scenarios:
- The occurrence of an inflammatory process, pancreatitis;
- Complete cessation of the organ’s work.
The latter is due to the excessive proliferation of connective adipose tissue cells, displacing the workers who produce the secretion.
Diabetes mellitus can not only cause malfunctioning of the pancreas, but also destroy the organ.
Examination of an organ with diagnosed diabetes is carried out in a comprehensive manner. Its goals are to identify the violation and assess the performance of the gland.
Pancreatic diabetes: features of the disease and risk groups
Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas, which often becomes chronic. In severe forms of the course, a large part of the healthy working cells of the organ are replaced with adipose, belonging to the connective tissue, or cicatricial. Such failures cause a lack of hormones normally produced by the pancreas, which provokes a variety of disorders, including an excessive accumulation of sugar in the blood. Then the body gets used to the excess glucose and does not suppress the increase in its concentration. All this does not guarantee the acquisition of diabetes mellitus, but often leads to its occurrence. This type of pathology is called symptomatic diabetes or pancreatic diabetes.
The acquisition of symptomatic diabetes directly depends on the lifestyle and diet.
People of different sex, nationality and age are subject to violation. However, the advantage of such a disease is the possibility of its prevention. It is enough to control the diet, reduce the impact of bad habits to reduce the likelihood of pancreatic disease and avoid this type of diabetes. Those who are already susceptible to the effects of the first or second type of disease will also benefit from the implementation of measures aimed at improving the condition of the endocrine gland, which produces insulin.
Development of pancreatic diabetes
Symptomatic diabetes does not appear within one hour. Its formation often takes many years. The manifestation is preceded by an acute form of inflammation of the pancreas, its transition to a chronic one. The development mechanism has three conditional stages.
- Manifestation of pains of different strength and localization. The periods of exacerbation are followed by remissions. The process can take many years;
- Dysfunction of the digestive system – decreased appetite, excessive flatulence, nausea and vomiting, heartburn. The initial stage of disturbance in the processing of carbohydrates by the body occurs due to the unstable work of the irritated pancreas, which periodically produces an excessive amount of insulin;
- The advanced stage of a chronic disease is manifested by a sensitivity to glucose. Its level in the blood rises too much after eating and remains so for an abnormally long time.
Further, a third of patients develop pancreatic diabetes. Lack of treatment for the pancreas can lead to other types of diabetes mellitus, but this happens almost half as often.
Symptoms of the disease
Pathology shows similar features with the first and second types of diabetes mellitus, however, a number of special characteristics distinguish the symptomatic type of the disease. Patients often have a lack of blood sugar. This leads to a state of hypoglycemia – a stable lack of glucose for the normal functioning of physiological mechanisms and accompanying symptoms. Increased acidity is rare, not typical; Less often (in comparison with types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus), damage to blood vessels occurs.
Medicines that lower blood glucose levels are effective only in the early stages of the disease.
Separately, it is worth noting the relationship between the manifestation of pancreatitis and type 2 diabetes. Inflammation of the pancreas provokes this pathology, provided that a malfunction occurs simultaneously with an increase in the concentration of sugar in the blood fluid. The disease is characterized by acute pain in the abdominal cavity and dysfunction of the digestive tract. Diseases mutually negatively affect each other and increase the destructive effect on the human body. Ways to restore the work of organs – treatment and diet.
Diagnostics of the condition of the pancreas
During the course of pancreatitis, inflammation can affect only part of the organ. In this case, the violation may be imperceptible for ultrasound diagnostics and not have vivid clinical manifestations. However, laboratory research records even small functional deviations. This obliges to carry out a versatile diagnosis – to study the patient’s card and his actual complaints about the state of the body, to prescribe a functional and laboratory examination.
The condition of the pancreas is not diagnosed by palpation due to its location in the human body.
The adjacent internal organs located in the abdominal cavity are subjected to visual inspection. The condition of the skin and nail plates, mucous membranes is assessed. With inflammation of the pancreas in diabetes mellitus, some signs of disturbances in the functioning of the body’s systems can be observed, but they are not typical only for these ailments:
- Pale or yellow-tinged skin;
- Plaque on the tongue, lack of moisture;
- Poor condition of hair and nails;
- Abnormal sensitivity in the area to the left of the navel, often with painful manifestations;
- Pain in the area in the epigastrium, and on palpation – in the area under the ribs.
Laboratory analysis
To clarify the diagnosis, laboratory analysis is required. It helps to assess the degree of loss of performance by the organ. In laboratory diagnostics, the level of production of hormones and digestive enzymes, the concentration of sugar in urine and blood, is assessed, the presence of inflammatory processes in the gland itself and border tissues is revealed. Standard assignments are:
- A general study of the state of the blood, which makes it possible to determine the inflammatory process by the chemical composition of the liquid;
- Biochemical methods for analyzing the state of urine and blood.
If there are individual jumps in blood glucose levels and symptomatic complaints of manifestations characteristic of diabetes mellitus in the form of abnormal thirst, a feeling of dryness in the oral cavity, it is recommended to conduct alternative studies of the degree of sugar concentration in the body using a carbohydrate morning meal, a glucose tolerance test. These methods allow you to determine the latent phase of the disease.
Instrumental examination methods
The most common method is diagnostics using ultrasound (ultrasound). It is safe and simple, does not require complex preparation and significant time investment. The only condition is to conduct an examination on an empty stomach. The method allows you to track changes in the state of organs, applicable for any age. An alternative instrumental examination is possible: EFGDS, MRI. Various X-ray forms of examination are used. Among them are radiography with contrast, angiography, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (combination of endoscopy and fluoroscopy), computed tomography.
Treatment and prevention methods
Before starting drug therapy for the pancreas, a diabetic must switch to a strict diet. This will improve the condition of the damaged organ. It will not work to avoid taking medications – the correction involves the intake of enzymes and hormones, the exclusion of junk food from the diet.
The multifaceted symptomatology of pathology involves the use of drugs of various spectrum of action.
To alleviate the patient’s condition, the following are prescribed:
- Pain relievers;
- Enzymes that compensate for the lack in the body;
- Antibacterial agents to prevent the development and spread of infection;
- Complex drugs with the active substance metformin hydrochloride have a positive effect on well-being;
- Some other substances are prescribed that normalize metabolic processes.
Your doctor may recommend a natural remedy for lowering blood glucose, such as chicory root, sea buckthorn leaves. It is mandatory to control the quality and quantity of food consumed.
Recommended diet for the treatment of pancreas in diabetes mellitus
It will take up to ten years to restore the functioning of the organ, but these actions will support the organ during and after therapy, as a prevention of the disease. To achieve this, it is best to seek the advice of a professional nutritionist.
The way to control the diet is to observe the correct ratio of the content of fats, carbohydrates and proteins in foods.
The doctor will tell you how to navigate the glycemic index, familiarize you with the table developed for this. General recommendations:
- The daily intake of fat does not exceed 60 grams, the rate of protein content is 100, carbohydrates up to 350;
- Eating is frequent and in small portions (5-6 times a day or more);
- It is useful to give up fried foods, it is better to use a double boiler;
- During periods of remission, stewed and baked products are allowed;
- It is better to avoid the use of hot and spicy seasonings that irritate the mucous membranes of the digestive tract;
- During periods of exacerbation (or better on an ongoing basis), spicy, fatty, salty, smoked is categorically contraindicated.
The beginning of treatment for diabetes mellitus is preceded by a trip to a specialist.
Restoration of pancreatic function through organ transplantation
When conservative methods of treating pathologies of the pancreas do not work, a decision may be made to transplant it. This method is used in the most extreme cases, since there is no guarantee that there will be no complications after the operation, there is no certainty that the organ will take root. However, a successful transplant can save a diabetic patient from insulin injections. Organ transplant is a complex process. This is due to the peculiarities of the structure, location and functioning of the organ.
- Finding the gland in the retroperitoneal space;
- Location close to many other vital organs;
- The presence of large blood vessels in the immediate vicinity;
- Sensitivity of organ tissue to any influences;
- Potential complication, expressed in the processing of the gland itself;
- Injury to adjacent tissues in case of damage to the pancreas.
A risky and highly paid procedure can be very effective, which is confirmed by statistical analysis. About a thousand cases of such medical intervention are recorded every year.
Insulin-producing beta cell transplant
Inflammation in the tissues of the pancreas leads to the destruction of some of its cells responsible for the secretion of hormones. Beta cells that produce insulin are most negatively affected. An alternative to transplanting an entire organ may be to transplant them. This is an effective method of influencing type 1 diabetes in the case of low effectiveness of insulin-substituting drugs. The process is to stimulate the remaining healthy cells. It is performed using healthy donor cells through a catheter into the hepatic portal vein. The result should be the restoration of the functioning of the affected area of the organ, the exclusion of the development and complications of the disease. The operation has proven to be effective and harmless to the patient’s life.
Therapeutic method of affecting the number of beta cells
The current state of the development of the medical field allows in some cases to achieve success without resorting to surgical intervention. This method is based on the property of a certain protein to stimulate the ability of damaged cells to repair. The substance is administered intramuscularly.
Immunomodulators for the restoration of the pancreas
The development of this modern method is aimed at helping diabetics with a history of the first type, whose cells that produce insulin are destroyed by the body itself, which produces antibodies intended for this due to a malfunction in metabolic processes. Scientists are actively exploring the possibility of creating a vaccine that prompts the body’s immune system to destroy such antibodies in order to allow the remaining beta cells to increase in size and restore function.