A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of a leukotriene receptor antagonist in chronic pancreatitis in humans

Background/Purpose Chronic pancreatitis is a debilitating condition of which pain is a predominant feature, and, at present, only putative treatments, beyond analgesics, exist. Evidence suggests that leukotrienes may play a role in both acute and chronic pancreatitis and that cells involved in their signalling are implicated in both conditions and pain production in chronic pancreatitis. We thus performed a study of a cysteinyl leukotriene receptor antagonist of proven benefit in chronic asthma (montelukast sodium) in patients with chronic pancreatitis.