Conditions: Chronic Pancreatitis Insulin Resistance Normal or Mildly Abnormal Stool Fat Levels
Keywords: Chronic pancreatitis Insulin resistance
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 64
Healthy volunteers: yes

Brief summary:
The purpose of this study is to determine if study drug (Pioglitazone) treatment will improve pre-diabetes (insulin resistance) or ealy diabetes and improve clinical symptoms (pain) or laboratory evidence of chronic pancreatitis.

The goal of the investigators is to gather information from this study to help gain understanding of a potential therapy for chronic pancreatitis.

Detailed description:
The pancreas is a digestive organ that secretes insulin (and other hormones) into the blood for regulating blood sugar (glucose) and digestive enzymes into the intestine for digesting and absorbing nutrients consumed in meals. Chronic pancreatitis is a progressive clinical disease of the pancreas, associated with swelling (inflammation), scarring (fibrosis) and loss of normal functioning tissue. Patients develop diabetes mellitus (elevated blood sugar), malabsorption of nutrients, weight loss and pain. Presently chronic pancreatitis is considered an irreversible condition because the mechanisms responsible for chronic pancreatitis are poorly understood and no therapy is proven. However, recent studies provide important clues that oral medications (Thiazolidinediones) used to treat diabetes mellitus might improve or reverse features of chronic pancreatitis, including elevated sugar or diabetes, reduced secretion of digestive enzymes, and pancreatic swelling and scarring.

Note: Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America (TPNA) provided pioglitazone and placebo pills with identically appearance until June 28, 2010, approximately the middle of the study.

Arms:
arm 1: 30 mg pioglitazone (Actos) tablet taken once daily for 48 weeks. arm 2: 1 sugar pill (placebo) taken once daily for 48 weeks.

Interventions: intervention 1: Pioglitazone intervention 2: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Participants randomized to pioglitazone receive 30 mg taken once daily for 48 weeks. intervention 2: None

Protocol document: