Brief Article
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World J Gastroenterol. Mar 14, 2012; 18(10): 1093-1097
Published online Mar 14, 2012. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v18.i10.1093
Autoimmune thyroid diseases and Helicobacter pylori: The correlation is present only in Graves's disease
Vincenzo Bassi, Gennaro Marino, Alba Iengo, Olimpia Fattoruso, Crescenzo Santinelli
Vincenzo Bassi, Gennaro Marino, Crescenzo Santinelli, UOC di Medicina Interna, San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, ASL Na-1 Centro, Naples 80144, Italy
Alba Iengo, Olimpia Fattoruso, UOC di Patologia Generale, San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, ASL Na-1 Centro, Naples 80144, Italy
Author contributions: Bassi V designed and performed the research, analyzed the data and wrote the paper; Santinelli C performed the research; Marino G performed the statistical analysis; Iengo A and Fattoruso O performed the analysis of hormones, Cag-A Abs and Helicobacter pylori.
Correspondence to: Vincenzo Bassi, MD, PhD, UOC di Medicina Interna, San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, S. Giovanni Bosco, ASL Na-1 Centro, Via F.M. Briganti 255, Naples 80144, Italy. dr_bassi@inwind.it
Telephone: +39-081-5562981 Fax: +39-081-19730469
Received: May 27, 2011
Revised: November 17, 2011
Accepted: December 31, 2011
Published online: March 14, 2012
Abstract

AIM: To investigate the correlation between autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATDs) and the prevalence of Cag-A positive strains of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in stool samples.

METHODS: Authors investigated 112 consecutive Caucasian patients (48 females and 4 males with Graves’ disease and 54 females and 6 males with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis HT), at their first diagnosis of ATDs. Authors tested for H. pylori in stool samples using an amplified enzyme immunoassay and Cag-A in serum samples using an enzyme-linked immunoassay method (ELISA). The results were analyzed using the two-sided Fisher’s exact test and the respective odds ratio (OR) was calculated.

RESULTS: A marked correlation was found between the presence of H. pylori (P≤ 0.0001, OR 6.3) and, in particular, Cag-A positive strains (P≤ 0.005, OR 5.3) in Graves’ disease, but not in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, where authors found only a correlation with Cag-A strains (P≤ 0.005, OR 8.73) but not when H. pylori was present.

CONCLUSION: The marked correlation between H. pylori and Cag-A, found in ATDs, could be dependent on the different expression of adhesion molecules in the gastric mucosa.

Keywords: Autoimmunity, Cag-A, Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Helicobacter pylori, Hyperthyroidism, Hypothyroidism