Antioxidants may Improve Pain in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis

In a recent study, antioxidant supplementation improved pain and reduced levels of oxidative stress in patients with chronic pancreatitis, an inflammatory disease of the pancreas. The main symptom of chronic-pancreatitis is abdominal pain, which can last anywhere from hours to days. However, effective pain-relieving medication for this condition is currently lacking. 

Researchers compared the effects of antioxidants to placebo in 127 patients with chronic pancreatitis for six months. Antioxidants are molecules that help prevent cellular damage caused by both normal bodily processes and exposure to some chemicals.

Participants in the antioxidant group experienced significantly fewer painful days compared to the placebo group. By the end of the study, 32 percent of people in the antioxidant group were pain free compared to 13 percent in the placebo group. In addition, participants who received antioxidants required fewer pain-relieving medications.

Measures of oxidative stress initially increased and subsequently decreased after supplementation with antioxidants. According to the authors, these findings suggest that chronic pancreatitis causes heightened free radical-mediated damage that is reversible.

"We are encouraged by our findings, as significant improvement was noted with antioxidants in respect to all the parameters of pain in this study. In addition, reduction in pain resulted in fewer man-days lost, thus providing functional employment gain to the patients. The findings should spur further research in this exciting area,” said Pramod Kumar Garg, MD, DM, of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, and lead author of the study.

For more information about antioxidants, please visit Natural Standard’s Health & Wellness database.

Comments

[Dave]

I think it is pretty impressive that antioxidant supplementation alone could bring such drastic results in pain relief. Does anyone know more about the antioxidant supplementation used in this study? I’m curious about what exactly was used for these patients and whether consuming foods with high antioxidant content would produce similar effects.

[Stacy]

What is commonly used to manage pain in patients with chronic pancreatis? I would assume narcotics and other pain killers would be more effective. Although, if antioxidant supplementation is effective, then this is great because you don't have to worry about becoming dependent on the drugs.

[P.S.]

This is interesting research! I have never heard about the use of antioxidants for managing pain. For chronic pancreatis, I have heard of changing your diet and taking enzyme supplements and narcotics for the pain. I hope future research can build on the use of antioxidant supplementation for managing pain associated with chronic pancreatis.

[RZD]

The use of antioxidants to relieve pain is very interesting. Many studies have investigated their use as a treatment for stroke and neurodegenerative diseases, but I haven't heard anything about chronic pancreatitis. Studies have also shown that excessive antioxidants could be harmful. What was the maximum dosage permitted per day?

[B.N]

It would be very interesting to know what kinds of antioxidants were being given and in what amount. Although I haven't heard of antioxidants relieving pain, this is an inflammatory process, and antioxidants have been shown to play a role in decreasing inflammation. Further research on the use of antioxidants for chronic pain associated with pancreatitis should be developed since the treatment given has been shown to treat pain with no narcotic medications. This could result in antioxidants being used for other inflammatory processes.

[Mk]

I found another study online from 2006 about the use of antioxidants for pain. The study observed the pain reactions in mice injected with formalin in their paws. The researchers injected mice with antioxidants before giving the formalin, which causes inflammation. Researchers found that antioxidant supplementation greatly reduced pain in the paws of the mice in a short amount of time. You can find the study here: http://www.physorg.com/news82136238.html

[Mariane]

I first heard about antioxidants being used for pain when I was doing research on Mona Vie juice which is a highly concentrated antioxidant berry juice. It seems to significantly reduce joint and muscle pain. So, I have read about antioxidants being used for pain. However, this does not specify the type and quantity required to produce these effects. Would you mind getting back to me on this please?,

[krista]

This is definitely an interesting study. I hope more research is done in this area.

I've also heard that there is some concern that consuming too many antioxidants may have negative effects on a person's health. For instance, some experts believe that consuming too much vitamin C may result in kidney stones.

[Luce]

The pancreas is an organ that produces several enzymes that aid in the digestion food as well as insulin, the hormone that controls blood sugar. Inflammation of the pancreas prevents the body from absorbing all of the nutrients it needs (which is also seen in cases of alcoholism).

Antioxidants help the body get rid of free radicals that are responsible for oxidative stress. In pancreatitis, there is the disruption of the balance between the free radical scavenger pathways and the mechanism for the generations of free radicals. This results in the depletion of circulating levels of antioxidants. Therefore, antioxidant supplementation (especially in alcohol–induced pancreatitis, which has been linked to low levels of antioxidants), may eliminate or minimize oxidative stress and alleviate pain from chronic pancreatitis.

[Marley]

Antioxidants fit into two main classifications: antioxidants created by the body or antioxidants provided by foods that are eaten. Antioxidants that dissolve in water are known as hydrophilic and react with oxidants in the blood and in the free spaces inside cells. Antioxidants that dissolve in fats are known as hydrophobic and help protect the outer part of the cell, known as the membrane, from a process known as lipid peroxidation.

Each type of antioxidant may be more present in some body fluids and tissues than others. For instance, one type of antioxidant may be abundant in the kidneys, but almost absent from the heart, while the opposite may be true for another antioxidant. Some antioxidants may occur at about the same concentration in every part of the body.

[Janie]

I didn't know about the different concentrations of the two types of antioxidants in the body. Do the different types of antioxidants go to the organs and areas of the body they are needed? I wonder how this process exactly works and if antioxidant supplementation can interfere with this.

[Cathy. P]

These results seem very promising: 32 percent with no pain at all! This was a six-month study, wasn’t it? I would like to see long-term studies and their results. Could antioxidants really reverse chronic pancreatitis, perhaps permanently? I also wonder if the alcoholics in the study felt the effects more or less than those who were not?

I agree with what others have questioned, about the effectiveness of foods high in antioxidants vs. supplements and if they have similar effects.

[busybee]

The article says, “Researchers compared the effects of antioxidants to placebo in 127 patients with chronic pancreatitis for six months.” They do not qualify which antioxidants are used, and in what form… is it in food form? Supplements? Is there an ideal form of antioxidants?

Also, was the data adjusted or stratified in any way? It also states, “Participants in the antioxidant group experienced significantly fewer painful days compared to the placebo group.” What else could the antioxidant group be doing that may affect the outcomes? It would be nice if this were defined a bit more.

[RogueTangent]

I find the whole field of antioxidant study to be fascinating. Considering that the role that oxidative stress plays in so many pathologies (perhaps most notably getting old), the potential for earth-shaking developments in this line of inquiry is huge. I’m planning on living a long, healthy life (like most people I imagine), and antioxidant research is one of those exciting areas where a lot of the preliminary research has been fantastically promising. Antioxidants are cheap, safe, naturally occurring, easily synthesized and promise to increase lifespan and quality of life (like in patients with chronic pancreatitis!).

Resveratrol is one such antioxidant that has enjoyed a lot of promising press recently. (It occurs naturally in things like blueberries and red wine.). Mice studies have shown it to significantly increase lifespan as well as possess anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties in addition to a host of other beneficial physiological effects. The scuttlebutt is that resveratrol may well emerge as a universal preventative therapy, like a one-a-day vitamin or aspirin. I’m hoping it lives up to the hype.

[Luce]

Cathy P,

I have not been able to read the original research, but I will say alcoholics in the study would experience more benefits from than non-alcoholics based on the interaction between the brain and alcohol.

[Laurie]

The more research that reveals natural methods to be able to help our health, the better. This way treatment will have no addiction side effect, which many of the pain medications have. The bonus is that not only will antioxidants help with the pain, but they will also help restore many other things in the body.

[Paulyn]

Antioxidants help the body get rid of free radicals that are responsible for oxidative stress. Depletion of circulating antioxidants in alcoholics has been linked to low levels of antioxidants, thus supplementation of antioxidants may eliminate or minimize oxidative stress and alleviate pain, especially from alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis.

[Heather]

I have heard of antioxidants being used for pain, especially joint and muscle pain. I personally know several people with such success stories. However, does anyone know if there are specific antioxidants with these effects or if all types produce these effects?

[Sarah T.]

Would other types of other foods that have the same, or maybe a higher level of antioxidants elicit the same effect?

[vfn]

I've recently been eating acai. It has been found to have a very high antioxidant level. The color of the berry is so dark it's almost black, so you can see how rich it is. It's great that they are finding such good information from such an available source.

[Mary]

Does it matter what kind of source you get the antioxidant from? I'm sure it has to be something with a very high amount of antioxidants.

[JBT]

I actually read the original study and I found it to be pretty interesting and relatively well designed. I think antioxidants are a great alternative to pain meds, which are usually used to alleviate the pain associated with chronic pancreatitis. Does anyone know if the particular antioxidant combination that was used in this study is available in the U.S.?

[Christine Rubio]

Oh wow. It seems so great to know about antioxidants. Do you have any information on how alcohol may affect antioxidants?

[Troy]

I don't think that the source matters as long as it's the same concentration. What I'm curious about is why patients experienced an increase in pain to start off with. Is this just an anomaly, or is it like capsaicin cream, where it depletes substance p but actually cause an increase in pain before the neurotransmitter is depleted?

[MHD]

I love antioxidants! Is there anything that they don't do? As free-radical damage is the culprit of so many things, it is also a factor in pain. Free radicals are essentially chain reactions that can't stop until met by another radical, destroying other reactions and your body's chemical makeup. If antioxidants can actually mediate pain as suggested by this article, this is a wonderful contribution to the pharmaceutical market. I suppose it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if patients became hooked on antioxidants, right?

[Vivian]

32% versus 13% of patients were pain-free in the study group. That is a really significant statistic. I would like to know more about what type of oxidants were used in this study. Would it make a difference if the supplements are acquired through diet instead? And would diet provide sufficient serum level to achieve this “pain-free” state? At what level is the antioxidant effective?

I think this study is very interesting. It might be applicable to other supportive therapies for other kinds of cancers.

[J Podin]

I looked at the study. The antioxidants used were daily doses of 600 micograms organic selenium, 0.54 grams of ascorbic acid, 9000 international units of beta-carotene, 270 international units of alpha-
tocopherol and 2 grams of methionine (Betamore G, Osper Pharmanautics,
India).

Ascorbic acid is Vitamin C. Beta-carotene can be found in carrots.

http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/selenium.php says that natural sources of selenium are cereals (eg. corn, wheat, and rice), nuts (brazil nuts and walnuts), legumes (soybeans), animal products (beef, chicken, egg, cheese), seafood (tuna). Other selenium-rich foods are oats, cods and turkey. Brazil nuts are among the very rich sources of selenium. In fact, it is advised to exercise caution with consumption of Brazil nuts, as the selenium intake may reach to toxic level.

Alpha tocopherol is one form of vitamin E. The other is gamma tocopherol. According to http://ods.od.nih.gov/FACTSHEETS/VITAMINE.ASP#h2, it can be found, in wheat germ oil, almonds, sunflower seeds and oil, hazelnuts, peanuts, corn oil, spinach, and broccoli, among other places.

According to http://www.healthnews.com/natural-health/amino-acids/methionine-essential-sulfur-containing-amino-acid-643.html, methionine is an essential amino acid. (We have to eat it, we can’t make it.) Methionine can be found in meat, as well as fish, eggs and dairy products. For vegetarians, grains and soya beans are good sources, but beans belonging to the legumes are not. Natural and synthetic methionine is also available in supplements, as well as those containing SAMe, in capsule, tablet or powder form. It contains sulfur, and sulfur is indispensable in the biochemistry of antioxidation. The US RDA us about 1 gram per day, so the study was using twice the RDA.

I have heard that any richly colored fruits, such a blueberries, strawberries, pomegranates or the like will also be rich in antioxidants.

[cocaine detox]

This is interesting article. I didn't know that antioxidants can reduce the pain in people with chronic pancreatitis. Thanks for the insight.

[rick]

I'm impressed with the power of antioxidants. Do you know of any studies where specific antioxidants are better for the pancreas than others? Have you heard of any studies where antioxidants help with diabetes or pancreatic stress due to diabetes?

[Fiona Peebles]

If the pain of chronic pancreatitis is lessened by taking resveratrol and other alternative medications, does that mean that the pancreas is becoming less inflamed and a cure could be forthcoming?