Literature Review On Pancreas

The pancreas and the gall bladder are two of the most important organs of the digestive system. Together they help with the digestion process. The pancreas and the gall bladder work together with different functions, the gallbladder stores bile that comes from the liver so that it can be used for meals later on and the pancreas produces pancreatic juice that contains digestive enzymes that help break down food. In order to maintain the body stable and healthy, we need the help of the gallbladder and pancreas to function correctly. Which is why, we, as humans should take care of our organs. ( Tim Taylor, Pancreas and Gall Bladder)

The common bile duct originates in the liver and the gallbladder and produces another important digestive juice called bile. The pancreatic juices and bile that are released into the duodenum, help the body to digest fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Endocrine Function: The endocrine component of the pancreas consists of islet cells that create and release important hormones directly into the bloodstream. Two of the main pancreatic hormones are insulin, which acts to lower blood sugar, and glucagon, which acts to raise blood sugar. Maintaining proper blood sugar levels is crucial to the functioning of key organs including the brain, liver, and kidneys.

Pancreatic cancer is currently number four in cancer related deaths for both male and female. Why is pancreatic cancer awareness not reconsidered like breast cancer (second most common deaths in women.) Pancreatic cancer kills just about or more than breast cancer.

The pancreas is located between the stomach and small intestine, and secretes insulin and glucagon to balance blood sugar levels in the body. When the pancreas does not work properly, a person may be diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, which is more commonly known simply as Diabetes (Morris and Maisto, 2002). People with diabetes suffer from extreme thirst, fatigue, lack of or increased appetite, and a myriad of other symptoms if their condition is not controlled properly with diet, exercise, and medications (if needed) (Steadman’s Concise Medical Dictionary, 2001).

Insulin resistance is the first physiological change occurring in type two diabetes. In these type two diabetic patients, insulin is unable to move glucose into liver, kidney and muscle cells although insulin is able to attach properly to the cell surface receptors. In order to rectify this, most patients with type two diabetes start secreting normal to very high levels of insulin, which can initially overcome this resistance. After a while, the pancreas cannot keep up with this high insulin production and the cells become resistant to glucose intake. Persistent hyperglycemia or high blood glucose levels are not desirable since this causes damage to the beta cells of the pancreas that produces the insulin hormone. This damage to beta cells further hampers insulin synthesis and patients at this stage are categorized as full-blown diabetic. Such patients consistently show a hyperglycemia state even after hours of fasting ( Hinkle & Cheever,

According to Swales, a discourse community is made up of individuals who share a set of common public goals, has mechanisms of intercommunication among its members, uses its participatory mechanisms primarily to provide information and feedback, has and uses one or more genres that help the community achieve its goals, has acquired some specific lexis, and has a reasonable ratio of novices and experts (220-222.). Even though that may seem like a large number of requirements in order to be defined as a discourse community, it truly is not. Everyone in this world belongs to at least one discourse community, while others belong to multiple communities. I decided to look at the Type 1 diabetes discourse community, because it is a community I am personally a part of.

Pancreatic cancer is the cancer that appears quickly and many die just as quick. Pancreatic cancer is the least known cancer to the medical world; puzzling doctors because most are not sure what diagnosis to look for. However, the risk factors include smoking, diabetes, and obesity. Studies show that pancreatic cancer has a higher percentage in the African American community due to environmental risk factors (John Hopkins Pathology, 2012).

Before the discovery of insulin, diabetes was a feared disease that most certainly led to death. Doctors only knew that sugar made the condition worse and that the most effective treatment was to put the patients on very strict diets where the amount of sugar intake was kept to a minimum. At best, this treatment could buy patients a few extra years, but it never saved them. In some cases, the harsh diets even caused patients to die of starvation. During the nineteenth century, observations of patients who died of diabetes often showed that the pancreas was damaged. In 1869, a German medical student, Paul Langerhans, found that within the pancreatic tissue that produces digestive juices there were clusters of cells whose function was unknown.

The pancreas is a retroperitoneal organ that secretes juices that help break down food, and hormones that help control blood sugar levels. There are numerous diseases that are associated with the pancreas including acute and chronic pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus, and pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic disease is most commonly found through computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadliest cancers one can be afflicted with in the United States of America. Within one year of affliction, the survival rate is a mere twenty percent. Within five years of affliction, only six percent of patients will still be alive. Pancreatic cancer has long since been renowned for being caused by epigenetic changes in many cases. One subset of epigenetic a is DNA methylation which can suppress genes and prevent them from being transcribed. Aberrant DNA methylation increases the risk of metastatic pancreatic cancer by silencing tumor-suppressor microRNAs. Although methylation silencing can have disastrous effects, it can help by enabling scientists and doctors to recognize signs of pancreatic cancer early

Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a metabolic disorder characterized by chronic high blood sugar levels. It is caused by an absolute or functional deficiency of circulating insulin, resulting in an inability to transfer glucose from the bloodstream into tissues where it is needed as fuel (Ahmed, Laing and Yates 2011). The disruption in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats and proteins interferes with the secretion or action of insulin, which plays a vital role in the metabolism and utilization of energy from the nutrients especially carbohydrates. Insulin is produced in the pancreas and secreted in the gastrointestinal tract in the response to high blood sugar levels after ingestion of a substance (REFERENCE).

The doctor may also take a blood test to determine if the jaundice is due to pancreatic cancer or liver disease. (Panno) Once the patient is diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, they can choose from different treatment plans. When determining the person’s treatment plan, they take consider their age and expected lifespan, other serious health conditions, the stage of the cancer, if surgery can remove cancer, likelihood of curing the cancer, and how the person feels about side effects. For many patients, the part that most important is the controlling of pain. Some treatments for the cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and other drugs. (Treating) Treating pancreatic cancer is very difficult due to the dense outer shell around the pancreatic tumor and nearly impossible to penetrate with cancer-killing drugs. “Wall is so tough that clinical trials with medications that are experimental designed to breach barrier had to be abandoned mainstream, drug so harsh they sicken already ailing patients,” said Doctor Abram Handly-Santana, a researcher who specializes in pancreatic cancer. (Ricks) Even though treating pancreatic cancer is difficult, some doctor decide to perform surgery to determine if the tumor is removeable and to determine the staging of the cancer to prescribe the best treatment. (Panno) The best

Pancreatic cancer is a disease that has no cure. It comes in the body and hides until it wants to be found, by the time it is found the cancer is usually in the late stages. However there may be a cure in the near future.

There are over three million Americans that have already been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and another 15,000 children and 15,000 adults being diagnosed each year. Although frequently overshadowed by the better known type 2 diabetes, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that is not caused by “being fat” or “eating unhealthy” as many would ignorantly infer. Type 1 diabetes, however, is caused by the attacking of the immune system on the pancreas, denying it the ability to carry out its most important function, producing insulin to help control one’s blood glucose levels. For over a decade now, biomedical engineers, scientists, and doctors have been working diligently and effectively on creating a closed-loop

The main function of the pancreas is maintaining blood glucose levels to about 70-150 milligrams per decilitre. The pancreas does this by measuring if the blood sugar level is too high or low, if it is not the correct level then a hormone is released. If the blood sugar level is too high insulin is released from the beta cells and causes glucose to enter body cells to be used for energy but sometimes can stimulate glucose to turn to glycogen in the liver. However, if it is too low then glucogen is released into the blood which causes the stored glycogen in the liver to break down