Extragastric Manifestations of Helicobacter pylori Infection – Other Helicobacters

Abstract

Today there is evidence that Helicobacter pylori has a critical role in different extragastric diseases. The discovery of a number of other novel Helicobacter species has stimulated the research in different extragastric diseases, in which an infectious hypothesis is plausible. Enterohepatic Helicobacter species have been hypothesized to play a role in different disorders, including hepatocellular carcinoma, gallstones formation and cholangiocellular carcinoma, as well as enteric diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases. Concerning the extragastric manifestations of H. pylori infection, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, and sideropenic anemia represent, based on the current data, the diseases in which the pathogenic link appears to be strongest. There is also an increasing evidence for a possible association of H. pylori with cardiovascular disease.

Clinical Factors Related with Helicobacter Pylori Infection - Is there an Association with Gastric Cancer History in First-Degree Family Members?

“…Today it is widely accepted that H pylori is not only a cause of chronic gastritis, duodenitis and peptic ulcer disease, but also plays role in the etiopathogenesis of gastric carcinoma (Veldhuyzen et al, 1994;Correa et al, 2007;Kandulski et al, 2008). Moreover, H pylori infection has been reported to be responsible from several extra gastric pathologies such as hematological, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, lung, hepatobiliary, intestinal, neurological diseases (Bohr et al, 2007).…”

Enterohepatic Helicobacter other than Helicobacter pylori

“…This species plays an important role in peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. Its microbiological characterization, definition of diagnostic techniques and approach to specific therapeutic strategies may have been the most relevant discovery in gastric disease in recent times (3). However, although the gastric Helicobacters have been the most studied, they only account for one third of the entire genus.…”

Helicobacter pylori and Hematologic Diseases

“…Vitamin B 12 , also known as cobalamin, is a coenzyme necessary for the metabolism of amino acids, such as methionine, threonine, and valine, and for DNA synthesis through the conversion of methyl-tetrahydrofolate to tetrahydrofolate [99]. Vitamin B 12 is synthesized in mammals, but for humans, their provision depends exclusively of diet intake of animal products [99].…”

“…Since the discovery in 1983 that the stomach could be colonized by bacteria [3], sufficient evidence has accumulated implicating H. pylori as a pathogen intimately related to benign stomach diseases, such us chronic gastritis and duodenal and gastric peptic ulcers [3], and malignant diseases, for example gastric cancer [4] and gastric MALT lymphoma [5]. Furthermore, during the last three decades following the discovery [3], approximately 50 extragastric diseases have been reported in medical specialties such as cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, obstetrics and gynecology, pneumology, neurology, odontology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, pediatrics, and hematology [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], the last of which is the subject of this review.…”