Histological and endoscopic features of the stomachs of patients with Chagas disease in the era of Helicobacter pylori

Increased serum gastrin in patients with different clinical forms of Chagas disease coinfected with Helicobacter pylori

“…A high prevalence of coinfection with H. pylori was observed among patients with Chagas disease in this study (approximately 78%) and in others, irrespective of the clinical form of the disease 21 - 26 . In the histological evaluation, we observed that H. pylori infection was spread into the antral and corpus of gastric mucosa in the majority of patients with the digestive form of Chagas disease, which may also contribute to gastric atrophy, hypochlorydria and hypergastrinemia 26 .…”

“…A high prevalence of coinfection with H. pylori was observed among patients with Chagas disease in this study (approximately 78%) and in others, irrespective of the clinical form of the disease 21 - 26 . In the histological evaluation, we observed that H. pylori infection was spread into the antral and corpus of gastric mucosa in the majority of patients with the digestive form of Chagas disease, which may also contribute to gastric atrophy, hypochlorydria and hypergastrinemia 26 . Thus, the hypergastrinemia that occurs in H. pylori -infected individuals has been attributed to hypochlorhydria, decreased secretion of somatostatin associated with the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL8, IL1β and TNFα, and also by a putative direct induction of the gastrin gene expression by the bacterium itself, especially the more virulent strains 10 , 13 , 27 .…”

2 nd Brazilian Consensus on Chagas Disease, 2015

“…The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection and of characteristic gastric endoscopic and histologic changes were similar in patients with and without Chagas disease. Furthermore, studies have shown that H. pylori is the main cause of gastritis in patients with Chagas disease (272) . The most common symptoms and signs of the digestive system, in the chronic phase of Chagas disease, are described below.…”