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Early detection of chronic pancreatitis, an ailment prevalent in India, and new methods of treatment based on genetic screening can become a reality within a couple of years.
In a significant breakthrough, the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology here has zeroed in on a particular gene that causes onset of the ailment after it undergoes a pattern of mutation triggered by some external and environmental factors.
The centre, in association with the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, has traced the pattern of mutation of the gene that leads to damage to the pancreas, leading to pancreatitis. This mutation pattern was found to be different from those prevalent in Europe and other countries, which means the disease here requires a different package of treatment.
15-year effort
Chronic pancreatitis is a recurring inflammation of the pancreas, the small organ in the human body that produces insulin to regulate sugar levels, apart from particular enzymes required to digest food. Pancreatitis can lead to abdominal pain, digestive defects and diabetes — and, if untreated, it could result in pancreatic cancer.
The research is part of a 15-year old worldwide effort to go into the causes and cure of the disease. “What we discovered here is only part of the puzzle, but we are now clearer on the triggers of the early onset of Tropical Calcific Pancreatitis among the young in India,” G. R. Chandak, Scientist and Group Leader of CCMB, told mediapersons here on Sunday.
TCP is known to be widely prevalent in South India, especially Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, with an incidence rate of one in 10,000. At first, it was thought that a particular food substance, Cassava (a starchy tuberous root of a tropical tree in India) triggered the disease, but it was soon eliminated as people in certain parts of Tamil Nadu suffered from it although this food was not much eaten there. Then, malnutrition was also ruled out, as the ailment struck even the economically better-off .
It was subsequently traced to some gene mutations, which differed from country to country. “We traced the gene to carboxypeptidase A1 gene, whose mutation causes the TCP in India,” Chandak said.
More time will be needed to prepare a complete picture of genetic susceptibility of TCP and the influence of the environment, but in a couple of years early detection and modification of the course of the disease could be possible, with new methods of treatment.
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