News From the Bench. ...cells per cubic millimeter (mm 3) of blood. (CD4+ cells are a type of infection-fighting white blood cell and are a primary target of HIV .) Volunteers were randomized to receive one of two antiretroviral treatment (ART) strategies: continuous...
It is common for people with pancreatic cancer to experience jaundice. Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin and eyes caused by excess bilirubin (a component of bile) in the blood. A tumor in the head of the pancreas can cause narrowing of the bile duct and block the bile flowing from the gallbladder into the small intestine. Blockage of the bile duct causes a buildup of bilirubin.
Post-hepatic forms of jaundice include the jaundices caused by failure of soluble bilirubin to reach the intestines after it has left the liver. These disorders are called obstructive jaundices. The most common cause of obstructive jaundice is the presence of gallstones in the ducts of the biliary system. Other causes have to do with birth defects and infections that damage the bile ducts; drugs; infections; cancers; and physical injury.