Helicobacter pylori, chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer.

H. pylori infection is strongly associated with chronic gastritis and is probably the main course of chronic inflammation in the gastric mucosa. Acquisition of the infection will lead to gastritis and the eradication of the bacterium results in healing and final cure of the gastritis. Chronic gastritis and H. pylori infection may occur in antrum and/or corpus, and will gradually result in atrophy of the underlying mucosa in a great number of affected persons. Correspondingly, impairments in several important functions of the gastric mucosa are consequences of the atrophy and inflammation. Hp infection and gastritis associate with important gastroduodenal diseases, such as peptic ulcer diseases and gastric cancer. There are reasons to suggest that the infection and subsequent gastritis precede these diseases, and that they are important risk factors for both disorders. In fact, peptic ulcer can be seen a late frequent complication of an H. pylori infection. In addition, the type and grade of gastritis can be used in prediction of the ulcer risk if adequate biopsy specimens are available for microscopy from both antrum and corpus mucosa (Table II). An association between chronic gastritis and Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is strong. Clearly more than 80% of cases with chronic gastritis are related to coexistent Hp infection. Furthermore, both Hp and gastritis are extremely common in patients with peptic ulcer supporting the view that they are causally related to the ulcer disease. Correspondingly, similar suggestions may also be presented about the links between Hp and gastritis in the pathogenesis of gastric cancer.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)