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SUMMARYBackground: After unsuccessful first-line treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection, the percentage of clarithromycin-resistant strains has been reported as between 30% and 70% in Japan and other countries. A high prevalence of clarithromycin-resistant strains is reported to be associated with eradication failure. Aim: We examined antibiotic susceptibility testing using a combination of dilution agar methods with PCRrestriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis. Methods: We enrolled 41 patients in whom first-line treatment with LAC (lansoprazole, amoxycillin and clarithromycin) was unsuccessful. Endoscopic biopsied specimens were used to examine antibiotic susceptibility to clarithromycin by dilution agar methods. PCR-RFLP

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To further elucidate the mechanism of increased serum ferritin levels in hyperthyroidism, the changes in erythrocytes and serum iron and total iron-binding capacity levels were examined in addition to serum ferritin levels in 13 hyperthyroid patients. The mean values of hemoglobin, red blood cells, and packed cell volume were increased by antithyroid therapy. While the serum levels of iron did not change, those of total iron-binding capacity increased significantly after achieving a euthyroid state. Increased serum ferritin levels returned to normal through antithyroid therapy. Furthermore, the serum ferritin levels of four anemic patients were significantly higher than those of nine nonanemic patients. Thus it is concluded that the increase in serum ferritin levels in patients with hyperthyroidism may be due to the direct action of thyroid hormones on its synthesis, while in some cases complicated with anemia impaired iron utilization by erythropoietic cells may also be involved.

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