Helicobacter pylori and the pathogenesis of gastroduodenal inflammation

Article Abstract:

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori, previously called Campylobacter pylori) can cause a bacterial infection in the human stomach and duodenum. Infection with H. pylori is associated with the development of gastritis (inflammation of the stomach mucous membranes). There are two types of gastritis, type A and type B. H. pylori infection is most commonly associated with type B gastritis. Studies using human volunteers and animal models have shown that ingestion of H. pylori causes type B gastritis, and that treatment with antimicrobial agents that reduce H. pylori infection reduces gastritis. Type B gastritis is found in almost all individuals with duodenal ulcers, and gastric metaplasia (the appearance of gastric or stomach mucosal cells in the duodenum) occurs in almost all cases of duodenal ulcer. Since H. pylori infects gastric mucosal cells, it is not unexpected that H. pylori infection is common in patients with duodenal ulcers. Whether H. pylori is a causative agent in the development of duodenal ulcers has not been determined. Infection with H. pylori and the development of type B gastritis is not common in children, but becomes more common with increasing age. It is estimated that by age 60, 50 to 60 percent of the Caucasians living in the United States will have been infected with H. pylori. Treatment of H. pylori infection is difficult and often requires the use of several different agents. In a few studies, bismuth salts, nitrofurantoin and furazolidone were effective in the short-term management of H. pylori infection, but recurrence was common. Erythromycin was ineffective against H. pylori infection. It is concluded that H. pylori infection is common, it plays an important role in the development of type B gastritis, and is associated with duodenal ulcers. The clinical diagnosis of H. pylori may provide a marker for the presence of inflammatory gastrointestinal disorders. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Physiological aspects, Development and progression, Duodenal ulcer, Duodenum

---

Long-term follow-up of voluntary ingestion of Helicobacter pylori

Article Abstract:

An association has been found between the presence of Helicobacter pylori bacteria in the upper gastrointestinal tract and upper gastrointestinal damage, such as gastritis. In 1985, a healthy 29-year-old man voluntarily ingested H. pylori, and subsequently developed infection with the organism and severe gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining). He was treated with bismuth subsalicylate, and was reported to have been cured of both the infection and gastritis. Over the past several years, however, this patient had a number of diagnostic studies which demonstrated that both the infection and gastritis were still present. He was treated with four different antibiotic therapies, none of which cured him of H. pylori infection. He ultimately required treatment with three different drugs at the same time, which finally resulted in eradication of the bacteria and resolution of both the infection and gastritis. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Complications and side effects, Drug therapy

---

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric carcinoma among Japanese Americans in Hawaii. Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and histologic gastritis in asymptomatic persons
• Abstracts: Partner notification and the control of human immunodeficiency virus infection. Kaposi's sarcoma reporting in San Francisco: a comparison of AIDS and cancer surveillance systems
• Abstracts: Campylobacter (Helicobacter) pylori: is peptic disease really a bacterial infection? Seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori in Seventh-Day Adventists and other groups in Maryland
• Abstracts: Prevalence and epidemiologic correlates of chlamydia trachomatis in rural and urban populations. Chlamydia trachomatis infection in women attending urban midwestern family planning and community health clinics: risk factors, selective screening, and evaluation of non-culture techniques
• Abstracts: International and interstate comparisons of homicide among young males. Firearm and nonfirearm homicide among persons 15 through 19 years of age: differences by level of urbanization, United States, 1979 through 1989

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.