Eradication of Helicobacter pylori normalizes serum gastrin concentration and antral gastrin cell number in a patient with primary gastrin cell hyperplasia.

A 60-yr-old man with longstanding duodenal ulcer was found to have hyperchlorhydria, moderate fasting hypergastrinemia, and markedly exaggerated meal-stimulated gastrin release. Antral tissue specimens showed the proliferation of gastrin cells and increased gastrin content, and he was found to have Helicobacter pylori infection in the antral mucosa. His illness was diagnosed as primary gastrin cell hyperplasia with H. pylori infection. Eradication of H. pylori normalized not only gastrin hypersecretion but also gastrin cell hyperplasia. These results indicate that H. pylori infection could be one of the causes of this syndrome.