Pancreatitis forms a much larger part of the clinical burden in VA hospitals than in civilian ones. Alcohol contributes to a large proportion of alcoholic pancreatitis (AP) in Veterans, and AP is a significant cause of mortality among our severely disabled Veterans. This proposal based on the interplay of alcohol, Sr. UFAs, Ca. and Alb. during AP, aims to develop a reliable predictor of alcoholic AP and propose management strategies which have a higher rate of success. For this we will test the relevance of our hypothesis in Veterans and understand the mechanisms of how alcohol worsens AP in basic animal and cellular models. The human subjects study in Veterans will be carried out at PVAHCS, while the animal and cellular work will be carried out at Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ.
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