Extragastric Manifestations of Helicobacter pylori Infection

Abstract

In the last year, different diseases possibly linked to Helicobacter pylori infection but localized outside of the stomach have been investigated. There are, in fact, several studies concerning cardiovascular diseases, hematologic disorders, neurologic diseases, metabolic, hepatobiliary diseases, and other conditions. Some of those studies, such as those on sideropenic anemia and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, are quite large and well conducted, while in other cases there are just small or isolated studies or even case reports. Nonetheless, there is much interest among researchers all over the world for such a topic as demonstrated by the large number of studies published in the last year.Several articles have been published in the last year concerning the extragastric manifestations of Helicobacter pylori infection. Here we summarize the main results obtained by these studies.

Helicobacter pylori seropositivity and pregnancy-related diseases: a prospective cohort study

“…This is supported by several reports that indicate a correlation between H.pylori infection and various extra-gastric disorders (Banić et al, 2012), including some serious pregnancy-related pathologies, such as pre-eclampsia and/or fetal growth restriction (Cardaropoli et al, 2014). These pregnancy disorders, as well as numerous cases of miscarriage, mainly involve abnormal placentation.…”

Helicobacter pylori and eye diseases in an Iranian hospital

“…There are studies that indicated ophthalmic diseases (Sergio et al, 2006;Kountouras et al, 2011;Choi et al, 2010). A report by Banić et al (2012) is correlation between the iris color and certain conditions such as cataract and AMD with lighter eye colors. Several somatic or hereditary disorders can easily be recognized by the characteristic changes of the iris by just looking at it or the overlying cornea or intervening lens (Hashemi et al, 2010;Morrison, 2010).…”

Helicobacter pylori and Hematologic Diseases

“…This response is attributed to molecular mimicry of infection-related bacterial proteins. The principal antigens associated with the autoimmune response against the platelets include the amino acid sequences of virulence factors such as VacA, CagA [17,178] and urease B, which are present during H. pylori infection [210]. The similarities shared between these antigens and platelet surface glycoproteins, like the glycoprotein IIIa among other platelet antigens not yet identified, are associated with antiCagA antibody production [178] and demonstrate the importance of H. pylori infection in ITP.…”

“…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.…”