Helicobacter pylori infection and vascular diseases

Helicobacter pylori infection has recently been associated to some organic functional vascular disorders and, both observational and interventional st udies have been carried out. A correlation between Helicobacter pylori infe ction and ischaemic heart disease was first described in 1994. Recent data, moreover, indicate a role of the bacterium in some functional vascular dis orders such as primary headache and primary Raynaud phenomenon; indeed, som e patients following eradication of Helicobacter pylori showed a significan t improvement in the manifestations of these diseases. The host immune resp onse against the bacterium may play an important role in the pathogenesis o f vascular disorders, probably through a chronic stimulation of the release of vasoactive substances, such as cytokines, prostaglandins and others. Ho wever, various confounding factors such as co-infections, genetic and immun ological host-factors, different strains of Helicobacter pylori ol others m ay influence the data. Well designed case/control and randomized interventi onal studies are still needed to assess the real role of Helicobacter pylor i in vascular disorders.