BULBODUODENITIS ASSOCIATED WITH HELICOBAC TER-HEILMANNII (FORMERLY GASTROSPIRILLUM-HOMINIS) INFECTION - A RARE CAUSE OF DUODENAL-ULCER

A case of a 56 year old patient with antral gastritis due to Helicobac ter heilmannii (formerly Gastrospirillum hominis) and duodenal ulcer i s reported. Nine weeks after starting eradication therapy complete hea ling of this ulcer was observed. A second case of a 66 year old female patent with H. heilmannii-gastritis showed associated chronic bulbodu odenitis. In this patient H. heilmannii was found in the duodenal too and shown to colonize areas of gastric metaplasia of the surface epith elium. These histologic findings suggest that H. heilmannii is able to cause chronic bulboduodenitis and duodenal ulcer. The pathogenesis of duodenal mucosal conclude. that chronic duodenitis and duodenal ulcer associated with H. heilmannii infection may be a more common event th an previous reports suggest.