Treatment of Helicobacter pylori in patients with lymphocytic gastritis

Background/Aims: Lymphocytic gastritis is a subtype of chronic gastritis ch aracterized by a marked increase in the number of intraepithelial lymphocyt es in the gastric mucosa. Its etiology is unknown, but a proportion of thes e patients have Helicobacter pylori infection. The aim was to assess the si gnificance of H. pylori treatment in lymphocytic gastritis patients. Methodology: The 10 patients with lymphocytic gastritis and either serologi cally or histologically diagnosed H. pylori infection were treated with a t riple therapy and followed by serology and histology after 6-18 months. Results: The levels of IgG antibodies for H. pylori decreased below 50% of the pretreatment values in all patients. The maximum numbers of intraepithe lial lymphocytes decreased significantly (P=0.005) from the pretreatment va lues. Conclusions: Treatment of H. pylori infection cures lymphocytic gastritis a ssociated with H. pylori infection. H. pylori appears to be one etiological cause of lymphocytic gastritis.