Reviewer's report 
 The role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of pain in chronic pancreatitis Title: 
 1  2 October 2004 Version: Date: 
 fred S gorelick Reviewer: 
Reviewer's report: 
General 
This study examines the relationship between pancreatic mast cells and pancreatic pain. An 
attractive feature of the study is that it combines clinical data from patients with chronic pancreatitis 
with in vivo studies in an animal model of this disease. It concludes that pancreatic mast cells are a 
determinant of pancreatic pain. 
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Major Compulsory Revisions (that the author must respond to before a decision on publication can be reached) 
1) The interpretation of the abdominal pain response provided in the results section is confusing and 
seems to indicate that differences were not observed between the WT and mutant. The meaning of 
the changes shown in figure 3 need to be explained more completely - although it appears there are 
differences, it is difficult to understand their meaning - are these statistically significant changes? 
2)Table I was not included in the PDF that I received. 
3) The micrographs showing mast cells were not convincing; perhaps this is due to digitization of the image but I wonder if any special stains were used to confirm their identity? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Minor Essential Revisions (such as missing labels on figures, or the wrong use of a term, which the 
author can be trusted to correct) It would be worth mentioning the recent publication by this group in the Journal Gastroenterology, especially in the context of the model 
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Discretionary Revisions (which the author can choose to ignore) 
 Unable to decide on acceptance or rejection until the authors have responded to the What next?: 
major compulsory revisions 
 An article of importance in its field Level of interest: 
 Acceptable Quality of written English: 
 No Statistical review: 
Declaration of competing interests: 
none 
Reviewer's report 
 The role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of pain in chronic pancreatitis Title: 
 1  2 October 2004 Version: Date: 
 fred S gorelick Reviewer: 
Reviewer's report: 
General 
This study examines the relationship between pancreatic mast cells and pancreatic pain. An 
attractive feature of the study is that it combines clinical data from patients with chronic pancreatitis 
with in vivo studies in an animal model of this disease. It concludes that pancreatic mast cells are a 
determinant of pancreatic pain. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Major Compulsory Revisions (that the author must respond to before a decision on publication can be reached) 
1) The interpretation of the abdominal pain response provided in the results section is confusing and 
seems to indicate that differences were not observed between the WT and mutant. The meaning of 
the changes shown in figure 3 need to be explained more completely - although it appears there are 
differences, it is difficult to understand their meaning - are these statistically significant changes? 
2)Table I was not included in the PDF that I received. 
3) The micrographs showing mast cells were not convincing; perhaps this is due to digitization of the image but I wonder if any special stains were used to confirm their identity? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Minor Essential Revisions (such as missing labels on figures, or the wrong use of a term, which the 
author can be trusted to correct) It would be worth mentioning the recent publication by this group in the Journal Gastroenterology, especially in the context of the model 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Discretionary Revisions (which the author can choose to ignore) 
 Unable to decide on acceptance or rejection until the authors have responded to the What next?: 
major compulsory revisions 
 An article of importance in its field Level of interest: 
 Acceptable Quality of written English: 
 No Statistical review: 
Declaration of competing interests: 
none 
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report 
 The role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of pain in chronic pancreatitis Title: 
 1  2 October 2004 Version: Date: 
 fred S gorelick Reviewer: 
Reviewer's report: 
General 
This study examines the relationship between pancreatic mast cells and pancreatic pain. An 
attractive feature of the study is that it combines clinical data from patients with chronic pancreatitis 
with in vivo studies in an animal model of this disease. It concludes that pancreatic mast cells are a 
determinant of pancreatic pain. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Major Compulsory Revisions (that the author must respond to before a decision on publication can be reached) 
1) The interpretation of the abdominal pain response provided in the results section is confusing and 
seems to indicate that differences were not observed between the WT and mutant. The meaning of 
the changes shown in figure 3 need to be explained more completely - although it appears there are 
differences, it is difficult to understand their meaning - are these statistically significant changes? 
2)Table I was not included in the PDF that I received. 
3) The micrographs showing mast cells were not convincing; perhaps this is due to digitization of the image but I wonder if any special stains were used to confirm their identity? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Minor Essential Revisions (such as missing labels on figures, or the wrong use of a term, which the 
author can be trusted to correct) It would be worth mentioning the recent publication by this group in the Journal Gastroenterology, especially in the context of the model 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
Discretionary Revisions (which the author can choose to ignore) 
 Unable to decide on acceptance or rejection until the authors have responded to the What next?: 
major compulsory revisions 
 An article of importance in its field Level of interest: 
 Acceptable Quality of written English: 
 No Statistical review: 
Declaration of competing interests: 
none 
assistant