AIM:Helicobacter pylori causes gastric mucosal inflammation and immune reaction. However, the increase of IL-10, MMP-7, and MMP-7 levels in the serum is still controversial. The objective of this study was to investigate the serum levels of IL-10, MMP-7 & MMP-9 in gastritis patients with H. pylori infection.MATERIALS AND METHODS:A cross-sectional study was done on seventy gastritis patients that consecutive admitted to endoscopy units. The diagnosis of gastritis was made based on histopathology and diagnosis of H. pylori infection was based on rapid urease test. Serum samples were obtained to determine to circulate IL-10, MMP-7, and MMP-9 level. Univariate and bivariate analysis were done by SPSS version 22.RESULTS:Forthy percentages of the patients were infected with H. pylori. The IL-10 level was significantly higher in H. pylori-infected patients compared to non-infected patients. However, there were no differences between serum levels of MMP-7 and MMP-9 in infected and non-infected H. pylori patients.CONCLUSIONS:The immune response to H. pylori promotes systemic inflammation, which was reflected by the increased levels of serum IL-10. However, there were no significant differences in MMP-7 and MMP-9 serum levels between positive and negative infected H. pylori patients.

Background: There are many questionnaires that have been developed to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), i.e. reflux disease questionnaire (RDQ), and the recently developed, gastroesophageal reflux disease questionnaires (GerdQ). In this study, we tried to compare GerdQ and RDQ in terms of sensitivity and specificity to diagnose GERD and its relationship with endoscopic findings.Method: This study was a cross sectional analytical study. Subsequently, all the subjects were evaluated using the GerdQ and RDQ, then underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy examination. The severity of endoscopically observed reflux esophagitis was graded with the Los Angeles classification. All endoscopy was performed by well-trained doctor.Results: A total of 85 patients were examined, 34 (40%) patients had reflux esophagitis at endoscopy examination, including 15 (44.1%) cases of grade A, 11 (32.3%) cases of grade B, 4 (11.8%) cases of grade C, and 4 (11.8%) cases of grade D. Analysis study using sensitivity, specificity, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) test showed that GerdQ had sensitivity (49%), specificity (91%), and an area under the ROC of 0.701 (p value = 0.002). RDQ had sensitivity (24%), specificity (91%), and an area under the ROC of 0.574 (p value = 0.253). Taking 11 as the cut off point for GerdQ, a maximal sensitivity of 73.5%, specificity of 82.4%, and an area under the ROC of 0.779 was achieved.Conclusion: GerdQ and RDQ can be used to help diagnose GERD, but GerdQ is more superior than RDQ in diagnosing GERD. A multi-center study with larger samples is needed to determine the best GerdQ’s cut off point in Indonesia.

Colorectal cancer is a major cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Colorectal cancer is the third most common malignancy and the 4th most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide. A number of infectious agents are considered to be cancer risk factors due to the hypothesis-generating and supportive evidence accumulated to date. It has been estimated that one fifth of all cancer is caused by some infectious agent(s). Infections from certain bacteria, such as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), Streptococcus bovis (S. Bovis), viruses, such as human papillomavirus (HPV), human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and parasites may increase the risk of colorectal cancer. More studies are needed to learn the association of infectious agents with the incidence of colorectal cancer.Keywords: colorectal cancer, infectious agents, malignancy, neoplasms

Background: Dyspepsia is a constellation of symptoms referable to the gastroduodenal region of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Emotional disturbances are often associated with dyspepsia and have been proposed as one of the possible causes of dyspepsia. This study was aimed to evaluate the difference between the severity

BACKGROUND: Helicobacter pylori is a non-invasive microorganism causing intense gastric mucosal inflammatory and immune reaction. The gastric mucosal levels of the proinflammatory cytokines Interleukin 6 (IL-6) and IL-8 have been reported to be increased in H. pylori infection, but the serum levels in H. pylori infection is still controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the serum levels of IL-6 and IL-8 in H. pylori infection.METHODS: A cross sectional study was done on eighty consecutive gastritis patients admitted to endoscopy units at Adam Malik General Hospital and Permata Bunda Hospital, Medan, Indonesia from May-October 2014. Histopathology was performed for the diagnosis of gastritis. Rapid urease test for diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Serum samples were obtained to determine circulating IL-6 and IL-8. Univariate and bivariate analysis (independent t test) were done.RESULTS: There were 41.25% patients infected with H. pylori. Circulatory IL-6 levels were significantly higher in H. pylori-infected patients compared to H. pylori negative, but there were no differences between serum levels of IL-8 in H. pylori positive and negative patients.CONCLUSION: The immune response to H. pylori promotes systemic inflammation, which was reflected in an increased level of serum IL-6. Serum levels of IL-8 were not significantly different between H. pylori positive and negative.KEYWORDS: Helicobacter pylori, gastritis, IL-6, IL-8, cytokine