HELICOBACTER PYLORI-RELATED GASTRITIS AND LYMPHOID TISSUE HYPERPLASIA IN THE AGED

HELICOBACTER PYLORI-RELATED GASTRITIS AND LYMPHOID TISSUE HYPERPLASIA IN THE AGED

Objective To examine the relationship between Helicobacter pylori-related gastritis and the development of lymphoid tissue hyperplasia in the antral mucosa and to pursue its evolution after eradication of H.pylori in the aged. Methods Gastric antral mucosa biopsy specimens for microscopic study were obtained from 101 chronic gastritis patients over 60 years old with H.pylori-positive in the period from 2000 to 2001, and meanwhile those from 124 H.pylori-positive chronic gastritis patients under the age of 60 served as controls. Four to six weeks after a course of anti-H.pylori therapy, biopsy specimens were again obtained. Lym-phoid follicles and aggregates were counted and other pathologic features were scored according to the updated Sydney System for classification of chronic gastritis. Results The prevalence and density of lymphoid follicles and aggregates were significantly lower in the aged as compared with those in the control group, being 36. 6%(37/101) and 0. 41 vs. 72. 5%(90/124) and 0. 81, respectively(P<0.0001). The prevalence and density of lymphoid follicles and aggregates correlated strongly with the activity and severity of gastric antral mucosal inflammation in both groups. Eradication of H.pylori resulted in a decrease in the prevalence and density of lymphoid follicles and aggregates in both groups, especially in the aged group. Conclusion The prevalence and density of lymphoid follicles and aggregates in gastric antral mucosal biopsies correlated closely with H.phlori infection in the aged, therefore, anti-H.pylori treatment would be of importance to the aged patients infected with H.pylori.