Pancreatic changes with lifestyle and age: What is normal and what is concerning?

Abstract

During the aging process, typical morphological changes occur in the pancreas, which leads to a specific “patchy lobular fibrosis in the elderly.” The aging process in the pancreas is associated with changes in volume, dimensions, contour, and increasing intrapancreatic fat deposition. Typical changes are seen in ultrasonography, computed tomography, endosonography, and magnetic resonance imaging. Typical age-related changes must be distinguished from lifestyle-related changes. Obesity, high body mass index, and metabolic syndrome also lead to fatty infiltration of the pancreas. In the present article, age-related changes in morphology and imaging are discussed. Particular attention is given to the sonographic verification of fatty infiltration of the pancreas. Ultrasonography is a widely used screening examination method. It is important to acknowledge the features of the normal aging processes and not to interpret them as pathological findings. Reference is made to the uneven fatty infiltration of the pancreas. The differential diagnostic and the differentiation from other processes and diseases leading to fatty infiltration of the pancreas are discussed.

Statin Induced Changes in Rat Pancreatic Tissue: A Histological and Biochemical Perspective

“…The current study is comparable with the study based on human data that obesity leads to an increase in pancreatic volume as well as pancreatic fat accumulation. 8 The results of the current study are comparable with the steps involved in the process of development of Insulindependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in rats. The pancreas histopathological findings in IDDM are divided into three stages: an early stage which shows mild lymphocytic infiltration in and around serous acinus part and islets of Langerhans.…”

“…Fatty infiltration was also significantly more prevalent, with 65% and 45% of experimental rats exhibiting per lobular and intralobular adiposity respectively. Global replacement by fat occurred in 30%, consistent with lipomatosis development, 8 Together, these findings provide unique visual evidence that simvastatin disrupts pancreatic morphology. The inflammation and fatty changes are particularly noteworthy, as they can disturb exocrine and endocrine function.…”