Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) is the inability to properly digest food due to a lack of digestive enzymes made by the pancreas. EPI is also found in humans afflicted with cystic fibrosis. EPI is caused by a progressive loss of the pancreatic cells that make digestive enzymes. [1] Loss of digestive enzymes leads to maldigestion and malabsorption of nutrients.
Causes
In humans, the common causes of EPI are Cystic Fibrosis, which is a hereditary recessive disease of Europeans and Ashkenazi Jews involving the sodium-chloride channels, and chronic pancreatitis.
Treatment
Often this is treated with Pancreatic Enzyme Products (PEPs), such as pancrelipase, that are used to breakdown fats (lipases), proteins (proteases) and carbohydrates (amylases) into units that can be digested by those with EPI. [2]
References
- ↑ Ettinger, Stephen J.;Feldman, Edward C. (1995). Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine (4th ed. ed.). W.B. Saunders Company. ISBN 0-7216-6795-3.
- ↑ FDA rulemaking history of OTC EPI drug products