Abstracts from Around the World

Pain, which can be disabling, is a cardinal manifestation of chronic pancreatitis, and therapies for such pain are often ineffective. This randomized placebo controlled study from India provided patients with chronic pancreatitis and pain with either placebo or antioxidants for a 6-month period. The cause of pancreatitis was alcoholic in one third of patients and idiopathic in the remainder. At the 6-month follow-up, the reduction in number of painful days per month was significantly higher in the antioxidant group compared with the placebo group (7.4 vs 3.2). There was also a significant reduction in the number of analgesic tablets taken monthly. Thirty-two percent of patients became pain free while on antioxidants compared with 13% of those using placebo.