Does Helicobacter pylori gastritis affect motor function of proximal stomach in dyspeptic patients?

The role of Helicobacter pylori infection in proximal gastric motor functio n and its relation to symptoms in patients with functional dyspepsia is sti ll unclear. We prospectively studied 26 patients with dyspepsia, no structu ral abnormalities found during endoscopy and biopsy-proven Helicobacter pyl ori-positive gastritis before and three months after Helicobacter pylori tr eatment. We used an 11-item score list to evaluate symptoms, gastric biopsi es for histology, and a gastric barostat (isobaric inflation-deflation) for proximal gastric motility. Minimal distending pressure (MDP), mean gastric volume at operating pressure, AUC of inflation-deflation cycles, and hyste resis (difference in AUC during inflation and AUC during deflation) were ca lculated. After three months, Helicobacter pylori was eradicated in 96% of patients. MDP, mean gastric volume at operating pressure, gastric complianc e, and hysteresis did not change significantly. Aggregate symptom score as well as histology scores in antrum and corpus decreased significantly. Redu ction in postprandial pain correlated with a change in hysteresis (r = 0.56 7, P < 0.01), but other symptoms did not. Reduction of corpus inflammatory activity correlated with changes in hysteresis (r = 0.604, p < 0.005), sugg esting that the stomach attains it original shape faster when inflammation is reduced. These observations suggest that inflammatory changes or release of inflammatory substances associated with Helicobacter pylori infection m ay influence proximal gastric motor characteristics.