How does hypercalcaemia cause pancreatitis?

Pancreatitis causes: Hypercalcemia (h) is not a known cause of acute pancreatitis (p). P is most commonly caused by alcoholism or gall stones. Other causes can be due to drugs and high triglyceride levels. H, however, is not recognized as a cause of p.

Not really known: Presumably, high blood ca makes the pancreatic cells more susceptible to self-degradation. Extreme hypercalcemia (eg. Cancer) is more likely to do this. Pancreatitis from mild hypercalcemia (benign conditions such as primary hyperparathyroidism) is rare, but possible.

Conjecture: Nobody really knows but some suggest that hypercalcemia induces pancreatic injury via a secretory block, accumulation of secretory proteins, and possibly activation of enzymes that begin to digest the pancreas.