Gastric Acidity in Patients with Follicular Gastritis is Significantly Reduced, but Can be Normalized After Eradication forHelicobacter pylori.

Follicular gastritis is thought to be caused byHelicobacter pyloriinfection. However, the pathophysiology of it remains unclear.We assessed gastric acidity in 15 patients with follicular gastritis, aged 20–37 years, using a 24-hour intragastric pH-metry, as well as by histologic and serologic evaluations; and compared it with that in other age-matched groups: 18 cases ofH. pylori-positive antrum-predominant gastritis, 12 of pangastritis, and 24H. pylori-negative normals. In eight cases with follicular gastritis, it was re-assessed 6 months after the eradication therapy forH. pylori.During nighttime, the percentage of time with intragastric pH above 3.0 in follicular gastritis was significantly higher than that in normals (p < .0001), and in antrum-predominant gastritis (p < .001), but was comparable with that in pangastritis. In the daytime period, this parameter in follicular gastritis was significantly higher than that in normal (p < .001), in antrum-predominant gastritis (p < .001), and in pangastritis (p < .05). Marked mononuclear cell and neutrophil infiltration but no apparent glandular atrophy were observed in both the antrum and corpus. Serum pepsinogen I/II ratio was significantly lower in follicular gastritis than that in normals (p < .0001) and in antrum-predominant gastritis (p < .001), whereas serum gastrin was significantly higher than that in normals (p < .0001), in antrum-predominant gastritis (p < .01) and in pangastritis (p < .05). After eradication forH. pylori, all of the parameters in follicular gastritis were altered to the same ranges as those in normals.In follicular gastritis, gastric acidity is significantly reduced, but can be normalized by eradication ofH. pylori. It can thus be speculated that inflammatory cytokines orH. pylori-infection–induced prostaglandins might strongly inhibit gastric acid secretion in follicular gastritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]