Biochemical changes induced by Campylobacter pylori in the gastric juice.

The biochemical changes induced in the gastric juice by the presence of Campylobacter pylori (CP) were followed up in 151 patients with various gastric and duodenal diseases. The diagnosis of CP infection was made by the urease test. In the presence of CP urea decreased in the gastric juice and ammonia increased. The sialic acid, fucose and hexoses, glucide components of the mucus glycoproteins dissolved in the gastric juice, underwent no change in the presence of CP. The hexosamines in the gastric mucus increased significantly in CP patients. Urease activity is present in the gastric juice even in the absence of CP, probably due to other microorganisms present in the human stomach. This does not exclude the use of the urease test for the diagnosis of CP infection. However the test can only be used in the bioptically removed gastric mucosa samples, not in the gastric juice.