Diffuse changes in the pancreas by the type of lipomatosis lead to the loss of body functions. This disease acts as a compensatory protective reaction of the pancreas to pathological changes.
general information
When normal healthy cells die, the body begins to replenish them with adipose tissue to maintain integrity and volume. However, fat cells cannot function as normal pancreatic cells. Lipomatosis, therefore, is not the cause of the disease, but its consequence. The pancreas has high compensatory abilities, and therefore, fatty degeneration may not appear throughout a person’s life.
Pathologies of this organ do not in all cases end with the appearance of lipomatosis. To such changes are more likely to complete people who already have fatty changes in various organs. An important role also belongs to age and heredity.
Most often, such changes do not have clinical symptoms, unless the accumulation of fat compresses the pancreatic tissue and its ducts. Lipomatosis proceeds slowly, progresses and always has a benign character. Very rarely, surgery is required. What leads to pancreatic lipomatosis?
Degrees of pathology
Pancreatic lipomatosis is characterized by the following degrees:
- 1st degree - replacement of the organ to a third. The patient does not feel signs of the disease, because any of its symptoms are absent.
- 2nd degree - half of the cells are replaced by fat, and this is accompanied by belching, flatulence or heaviness in the abdomen.
- 3rd degree - adipose tissue replaces more than 60% of the pancreas, there are pathologies of the digestive tract and the degree of glucose in the blood rises.
It is worth noting that diffuse changes in the pancreas by the type of lipomatosis can develop into malignant tumors.
The mechanism of the ailment
It was already noted above that fatty degeneration can develop due to the fact that normal pancreatic cells die for one reason or another. The body tries to make up for their deficiency and starts this process. The disease progresses very slowly. From its beginning to the second stage, for which the first signs are characteristic, several tens of years can pass. Symptoms most often make themselves felt when more than thirty percent of the cells have already been replaced. Signs of pancreatic lipomatosis are rather unpleasant.
In the later stages, pathology has a significant effect on the functioning of the endocrine system. Insulin ceases to be produced in sufficient quantities by the pancreas, and the body is not able to properly digest fats and proteins. After this, significant health problems begin.
Most patients suffering from pancreatic lipomatosis show carbohydrate metabolism disorders. In addition, they have reduced immunity. If the development scenario is the worst, then the pathology can develop into a cancerous tumor.
Provocative Factors
Regarding the causes of pancreatic lipomatosis, we can say that scientists still have not precisely determined them. It was only possible to identify risk factors, which include:
- chronic or acute pancreatitis;
- diabetes;
- alcoholism;
- obesity;
- heredity;
- organ injuries.
All factors listed above may not lead to the appearance of lipomatosis. However, when analyzing the medical histories of people suffering from such a pathology, it was revealed that substitution most often begins with one of these signs.
Clinical symptoms of the disease
Lipomatosis most often does not cause inconvenience to the patient and is detected by chance during an ultrasound in the form of small foci that are diffuse scattered in the pancreatic parenchyma. The specialist will describe them in conclusion as diffuse changes in the organ. Small foci do not press on the tissue of the organ and are not an obstacle in the performance of its functions.
Ultrasound results show the state of the pancreas as a whole, its size, presence, size and number of accumulations of fat. Enlarged pancreas can talk about serious pathologies. In this case, the patient needs to do treatment in order to avoid complications such as neoplasms and pancreatic necrosis. Are there pains with pancreatic lipomatosis?
In some cases, focal lipomas, which are located near the excretory ducts of the gland, can greatly disrupt its functioning. If the excretory ducts of the pancreas are compressed, then digestion is noticeably impaired. A person feels heaviness in the abdomen after eating, pain in the area of the projection of the pancreas, vomiting and nausea appear. Food is not completely digested, due to which fermentation processes develop in the intestine, gas formation increases, bloating is observed. When the gases escape, the patient feels relief, the pain disappears. There may be stool disorders in the form of diarrhea. During the survey, common signs are also determined: general health disorders, increased fatigue, decreased working capacity, and weakness.
Signs may indicate a number of pathologies of the digestive tract, in connection with which patients with pancreatitis, ulcers and gastritis attribute them to their main ailment, without attaching special importance. Because of this, the disease progresses.
Which doctor should I contact?
The sooner it was possible to diagnose the disease, the more effective the therapy of pathology becomes. Since the symptomatology very rarely manifests itself in the first stage, then to find it in the initial state requires regular visits to the therapist, as well as the passage of medical examinations. With pancreatic lipomatosis, ultrasound is very effective.
If signs appear, you need to contact a gastroenterologist, and he will most likely send a person to a surgeon who will be directly involved in the treatment of lipomatosis. In addition, consultation with an endocrinologist may be required.
Diagnostics. Treatment specifics
Lipomatosis can be determined using ultrasound, showing the saved size of the organ with structural changes, which is evidence of pathology. A biopsy of the gland tissue is used to confirm the presence of fat cells.
Regarding the treatment of pancreatic fatty degeneration, it should be immediately noted that in the vast majority of cases it will not allow to achieve full healing. The main goal is to slow down the pathological process. This can be achieved in three main ways.
- Treatment with drugs. It is used when the lesions are not of a total nature: there are not too many impregnations of fat, they are located throughout the body, do not exert pressure on the tissues. In this case, drugs are prescribed that normalize digestion (Festal, Mezim, etc.), eliminate hormone imbalance (Insulin), as well as enzyme deficiency (Pancreatin). In the presence of pain, anti-inflammatory and analgesics are prescribed (Ibuprofen). How to treat pancreatic lipomatosis?
- Surgical therapy of organ fatty degeneration is required when lesions take the form of large islets and cover large areas, pressing on the ducts of the organ, pinching the ends of the nerves. Lipomatous nodes in such cases are removed by surgery. However, this does not make it possible to count on absolute healing, since small lipomas will still remain, and their development can be activated at any time.
- In addition, there are a number of folk remedies for pancreatic lipomatosis, aimed at combating the disease. Plants such as nettle, calendula, wormwood, plantain, hemlock, etc. are used. Alcohol tinctures and decoctions for internal use are made on their basis. Such methods are only auxiliary and quite effective only in the early stages of lipomatosis. In any case, they must be applied comprehensively, along with traditional methods.
Diet
Since the changes that occur with lipomatosis are irreversible in nature, you need to concentrate on its treatment. The most important value in it belongs to a diet that helps prevent the further spread of fat cells in the body. It is based on fractional nutrition, that is, you need to eat in small portions, 5-6 times a day. It is advisable to cook food steamed without adding vegetable oil. You should exclude from your diet fried, fatty, spicy, sweet, smoked and alcohol.
You need to eat lean types of fish and meat, vegetables, dairy products, various cereals, including oats, rice and buckwheat. The daily calorie requirement should not exceed the figure of 2800.
Pancreatic lipomatosis: prognosis
The danger of pancreatic lipomatosis is to reduce the number of functional cells. With adequate therapy, the elimination of causal factors and a change in the patient's lifestyle, the prognosis for the future is relatively favorable. The remaining glandular tissue takes on all the necessary functions.
Prevention
A pathology such as pancreatic lipomatosis is quite difficult to treat. That is why a healthy person should take measures to reduce the risk of such a disease. To do this:
- control your weight;
- reduce alcohol intake;
- eat less fatty foods;
- quit smoking, as it greatly affects the activity of the pancreas;
- less stress;
It is equally important to monitor the condition of the other digestive organs, especially the biliary tract and liver, since with gallstone disease, cholecystitis and hepatitis, the risk of pancreatic obesity increases.