Bioecological Control of Disease, Especially Pancreatic Disease

Patients with acute pancreatitis often suffer an uncontrolled superinflammation, and as a result of that a malfunctioning innate immune system, which frequently leads to complications: severe infections, systemic inflammatory syndrome, and sometimes multiple organ failure. Among the characteristics of the superinflammation are an exuberant, e.g., exaggerated and prolonged, inflammatory response, an aberrant cellular response, and extreme elevations in levels of cytokines and acute-phase proteins but also in levels of coagulation and growth factors. The cytokine storm, which occurs during the first few hours, will almost immediately reach the lungs and other distant organs via the lymphatics 1], and will condition them to be/make them susceptible to a subsequent infection. Overgrowth of potentially pathogenic microorganisms in the stomach and intestines, due to disease, inhibition of gastric and gastrointestinal (GI) secretions, and absence of a food stream, provides the source of bacteria for subsequent infection of the chest, pancreas, urinary tract, and other organs.