Influence of age, sex, and Helicobacter pylori infection before and after eradication on gastric alcohol dehydrogenase activity

Background: Gastric alcohol dehydrogenase may contribute to the metabolism of orally ingested ethanol and decrease the bioavailability of the drug. Th e aims of this study were to assess the impact of Helicobacter pylori infec tion and its eradication on gastric alcohol dehydrogenase activity and to r elate the findings to gastric histology. Furthermore, the role of age- and sex-related differences in gastric alcohol dehydrogenase activity were stud ied. Methods: A total of 76 subjects (39 women and 37 men) underwent upper gastr ointestinal endoscopy, and biopsies were obtained from the corpus and antru m. The specimens were used for determining gastric alcohol dehydrogenase ac tivity, histological examination, and urease testing. Subjects with H. pylo ri infection (n = 36) received medication to eradicate the infection, and r epeat biopsies were taken 2 and 12 months later. Results: No significant difference in gastric alcohol dehydrogenase activit y was found between men and women (p > 0.05). Gastric alcohol dehydrogenase activity did not differ significantly between the subjects older than 50 y ears (n = 39) and those 50 years or younger (n = 37). In subjects with H. p ylori infection, gastric alcohol dehydrogenase activity was significantly r educed in the antrum (p < 0.05). After eradication of H. pylori, alcohol de hydrogenase activity in the antrum increased significantly within 2 months (p < 0.01). Antral biopsies with the most pronounced inflammation and histo logical changes had significantly decreased alcohol dehydrogenase activity (p < 0.05). In contrast, no significant differences were found in corpus. Conclusions: H. pylori infection is associated with decreased antral alcoho l dehydrogenase activity, which seems to be related to the severity of the inflammatory changes in the mucosa. Eradication of H. pylori normalizes ant ral alcohol dehydrogenase activity within 2 months.