Hypercalcemia induced pancreatitis as a rare presentation of primary hyperparathyroidism.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory process of the pancreas. It is a relatively common cause of acute upper abdominal pain and is potentially associated with high morbidity and mortality. Underlying hypercalcemia as a cause of AP is very rare. We present a case of a hypercalcemia-induced acute pancreatitis with an underlying parathyroid adenoma in an 81-year-old woman with no previous symptoms of hypercalcemia. The parathyroid adenoma was semi-urgently surgically resected with normalization of calcium-levels. This case report summarizes the causes of acute pancreatitis and hypercalcemia and its management.

The intriguing role of soluble urokinase receptor in inflammatory diseases.

Inflammation is a key player in the development of an increasing amount of diseases. The soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) is a highly flexible molecule with intrinsic chemotactic properties. This glycoprotein has been evaluated as a biomarker of inflammation, immune activation, organ damage and clinical outcome in several pathologies, including cardiovascular disease, hepatitis, renal disorders and rheumatic pathologies. The use of this early warning inflammatory biomarker could potentially improve the prediction of the severity of these diseases and mortality. In the present paper, we describe the general characteristics of suPAR and its intriguing role as a biomarker in different inflammatory diseases.