ALCOHOL, PANCREATIC MUSCARINIC RECEPTORS AND ACUTE-PANCREATITIS

Recently, a new theory about the pathogenesis of acute alcoholic pancreatitis was proposed. The aim of the present work was to further study the basis of this cholinergic theory about the pathogenesis of acute alcoholic pancreatitis. The results indicated that already a short-term alcohol consumption induces in some rats a dramatic decrease in the number of pancreatic muscarinic receptors. This decrease may predispose to acute alcoholic pancreatitis by increasing the cholinergic tone, since excessive cholinergic tone invariably leads to acute pancreatitis both in experimental animals and in man. Thus, the pathogenetic mechanism triggering acute alcoholic pancreatitis might be similar to the mechanism triggering acute pancreatitis caused by the scorpion sting, intoxication with an antiacetylcholine-esterase-containing insecticides or after excessive cholinergic stimulation.