Silent but deadly: the body's hidden organ - the pancreas [1]

In human adults, the pancreas is a flattened gland, about six to eight inches long. It is buried deep in the abdomen behind the stomach, where it connects the small intestine at the duodenum, just under the stomach. Also called the "hidden organ," the pancreas is not readily accessible and is thus difficult to examine by conventional methods. It is hidden, too, from our understanding, to a large extent.

Symptoms of a pancreas disorder often mimic other common health problems, including simple indigestion. Little is known about the cause of such disastrous diseases as chronic pancreatitis, with as many as 40% of adult cases labeled "idiopathic," meaning of unknown origin. (1, 2) Even pancreatic cancer is not well understood; so far, the most consistently reported risk factor for tumor development is cigarette smoking. (3) We do know this type of cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and around the world. It is nearly always fatal; more than 98% of patients die, and its incidence is on the rise in industrialized nations.

Diabetes is, by far, the most renowned form of pancreatic disease wherein the pancreas either does not produce sufficient insulin, or, as is sometimes the case in adult-onset diabetes, the cells of the body simply do not respond to insulin's message. Other, even more silent and potentially more deadly disorders include (1) acute and chronic pancreatitis, each often very painful; (2) cystic fibrosis, which affects pancreatic function; and (3) organ tumors, either benign or malignant.

Finally, a little-known disease in which the symptoms might sound familiar is pancreatic enzyme insufficiency. This disorder can be mistaken for indigestion, and patients experience few or no symptoms at all while it slowly robs the body of important nutrients. When the disorder is left untreated, severe malnutrition can result.

Classification

There are two types of diabetes, type (juvenile onset) and type 2 (adult onset). In type 1 diabetes, the pancreas produces insufficient or no insulin. Patients must have daily insulin injections, and they live on the balance beam between diabetic coma (too much acid in the blood from an inability to use blood sugar) and insulin shock (too much insulin taken to protect against diabetic coma).

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