Our results reveal an increased generation of reactive oxygen species and impairment of the antioxidant system in patients with hyperthyroidism, and particularly in patients with hypothyroidism. These findings indicate that thyroid hormones have a strong impact on oxidative stress and the antioxidant system.

Data are relatively scarce on gastro-intestinal tuberculosis (GITB). Most studies are old and from single centers, or did not include immunosuppressed patients. Thus, we aimed to determine the clinical, radiological, and laboratory profiles of GITB. We included adults with proven GITB treated between 2000 and 2018. Patients were enrolled from 21 referral centers in 8 countries (Belgium,

Background/Aims: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether Helicobacter pylori causes or triggers recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) through cytokine gene polymorphism and/or cobalamin deficiency. Materials and Methods: Thirty-six patients with RAS and 130 patients without RAS were genotyped for IL-1β (−511C/T) and IL-6 (−174G/C) and evaluated for H. pylori infection and serum cobalamin level. Results: The patient groups according to RAS had similar rates of H. pylori gastritis and interleukin genotypes/alleles, and there was a non-significant difference between serum cobalamin levels (p>0.05). RAS patients with H. pylori gastritis showed a higher frequency (51.9%) of GC IL-6 genotype than RAS patients without H. pylori gastritis (11.1%) (p=0.036). Non-GG genotype and C allele were increased in patients without RAS and with H. pylori gastritis (p<0.05). Patients with H. pylori gastritis showed a lower value of serum cobalamin without statistical significance, although this difference was more prominent in RAS patients (p=0.07). Conclusion: The carriage of the C allele of IL-6 may lead a susceptibility to chronic gastric inflammation after contamination with H. pylori. If H. pylori infection is justified as a predisposing factor for RAS and its severity by further studies, we can speculate that subjects with genetic susceptibility to this infection may benefit from H. pylori eradication treatment with respect to RAS.

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Background Recurrent aphthous stomatitis is one of the most common lesions of oral mucosa. Helicobacter pylori is suggested as one of the etiological agents of recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Here, we conduct a study for evaluating the impact of H. pylori eradication on clinical course of recurrent aphthous stomatitis. Methods Forty‐six patients with minor aphthous lesions were enrolled. The number of RAS lesions at last 6 months and vitamin B12 levels were recorded. All patients were detected for H. pylori with endoscopic biopsy. H. pylori was positive in 30 patients and negative in 16 patients. H. pylori‐positive 30 patients received eradication therapy. Three months after therapy, patients were re‐evaluated with urea breath test; 18 patients were negative (eradicated), and the remainders (12 patients) were positive (non‐eradicated) for H. pylori. 6 months after eradication, vitamin B12 levels and number of aphthous lesions at 6 months were recorded. Results Vitamin B12 levels were significantly increased in H. pylori‐eradicated group (P = 0.001), whereas no significant change was found in non‐eradicated group (P = 0.638). Mean number of aphthous lesions (per 6 months) of H. pylori‐eradicated group was significantly decreased after eradication (P = 0.0001); in the non‐eradicated group, no significant change was found (P = 0.677). In Hp‐positive group, number of RAS lesions and vitamin B12 levels were negatively correlated when evaluated both before and after eradication. Conclusions This study provides evidence to support the beneficial effect of H. pylori eradication in patients with recurrent aphthous stomatitis. The underlying mechanism might be the increase in vitamin B12 levels after eradication.