Pancreatitis News and Research

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Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. The pancreas is a large gland behind the stomach and close to the duodenum—the first part of the small intestine. The pancreas secretes digestive juices, or enzymes, into the duodenum through a tube called the pancreatic duct. Pancreatic enzymes join with bile—a liquid produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder—to digest food. The pancreas also releases the hormones insulin and glucagon into the bloodstream. These hormones help the body regulate the glucose it takes from food for energy.

Normally, digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas do not become active until they reach the small intestine. But when the pancreas is inflamed, the enzymes inside it attack and damage the tissues that produce them.

Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic. Either form is serious and can lead to complications. In severe cases, bleeding, infection, and permanent tissue damage may occur.

Novel blood test could detect pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages

Researchers at City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the country, led the development of a new, investigational blood test that could detect pancreatic cancer at its earliest stages, when the disease is more treatable and potentially curable.

16 Sep 2026

Study finds weak evidence for post-hospital alcohol use disorder treatment

A systematic review by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz and Yale University found limited evidence that hospital-based interventions can help people with alcohol use disorder connect with outpatient treatment after they leave the hospital.

8 Sep 2026

SHASTA trials show substantial triglyceride reductions with plozasiran

Plozasiran significantly reduced triglyceride levels in severe hypertriglyceridemia patients, showing promise in preventing acute pancreatitis after one year.

31 Aug 2026

Piezo ion channels: Key regulators of digestive health and disease

Mechanosensitive Piezo ion channels, particularly Piezo1 and Piezo2, are gaining recognition as central regulators of digestive system physiology and disease.

7 Aug 2026

Patient-derived organoids uncover new targets for chronic pancreatitis treatment

Around three million people worldwide struggle with chronic pancreatitis, a condition wherein the pancreas becomes inflamed, scarred, and painful.

14 Jul 2026

Semaglutide approval drove a surge in GLP-1 poison center exposures

Following semaglutide's approval, poison center reports of GLP-1 RA exposures doubled, revealing critical trends in patient safety and healthcare utilization.

26 Jun 2026

Autonomous medical AI outperforms doctors in simulated EHR cases

MIRA, an autonomous AI agent tested in a sandboxed electronic health record, diagnosed 574 real emergency department cases with 88.9% accuracy and outperformed physicians in a matched 311-case comparison. The system ordered tests, generated medication plans, and made admission decisions in simulation, but the authors stress that prospective validation, governance, and physician oversight are still essential.

21 Jun 2026

Oral GLP-1 drug elecoglipron helps adults lose up to 11.8% body weight

Once-daily oral elecoglipron produced dose-dependent weight loss in adults with obesity or overweight without diabetes, with mean reductions reaching 10.5% at 26 weeks and 11.8% at 36 weeks in the highest-dose weekly-titration group. The phase 2 trial found no evidence of a weight-loss plateau by 36 weeks, while gastrointestinal adverse events were common but generally manageable.

11 Jun 2026

Chronic pancreatitis care must expand beyond simple pain management

Chronic pancreatitis (CP) diminishes quality-of-life (QoL) across mobility, self-care, daily activities, mental health, and pain-not just abdominal discomfort-according to a new Mayo Clinic study available online on August 27, 2025, and published in Volume 9, Issue 1 of the Journal of Pancreatology on March 30, 2026.

11 Jun 2026

Obesity drug mazdutide reduces weight and waist size in major trial

Once-weekly 9 mg mazdutide produced clinically meaningful weight loss in Chinese adults with obesity, reducing body weight by 16.65% after 60 weeks versus 1.50% with placebo. The phase 3 GLORY-2 trial also found improvements in waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, and lipid markers, but gastrointestinal adverse events were common.

9 Jun 2026

Modified stem cell therapy reverses new-onset Type 1 diabetes in mice

A group of researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) has recently developed a new stem cell therapy with a remarkable ability to reverse new-onset Type 1 diabetes (T1D) in a mouse model of the disease.

2 Jun 2026

Justicia carnea extract alleviates oxidative stress in pancreatitis

Chronic pancreatitis is an inflammatory disease and is difficult to manage despite advancements in medical science.

1 Jun 2026

New study tests vitamin D analog against pancreatic cancer

A small clinical trial led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers put a Salk Institute idea to the test in patients: that activating the vitamin D receptor can help reshape the protective environment surrounding pancreatic tumors in ways that could make the notoriously difficult-to-treat cancer more vulnerable to therapeutic treatments.

26 May 2026