H. pylori‘s Potential Protective Role in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Bucharest — May 9, 2024 — research indicates Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection may offer a protective effect against Inflammatory bowel Disease (IBD), including Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease.Studies show a lower prevalence of the bacteria in IBD patients. Although some studies show conflicting results, meta-analysis support the theory that H. pylori infection reduces the likelihood of IBD. Read on to learn more from scientific journals and related studies.
Here’s a summary of teh provided text, focusing on the relationship between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), including Ulcerative Colitis (UC) and Crohn’s Disease (CD):
Key Findings and Observations:
Lower H. pylori Prevalence in IBD: Several studies,including Sonnenberg et al.(2012), Jin et al. (2013), and Ali et al. (2022), have found a significantly lower prevalence of H. pylori infection in patients wiht UC compared to control groups.
Study Results: The study found that H. Pylori was significantly higher in the control group 42 (23.3%) compared with UC cases 12 (13.2%) p = 0.048.Similarly, H. pylori infection was higher in the control group compared to the CD group but didn’t reach significance (14.6%) p = 0.098.
Potential Protective Effect: A significant number of studies suggest that H. pylori may offer a protective effect against IBD.
Meta-Analysis Support: A meta-analysis by Castano-Rodriguez et al. (analyzing 40 studies) indicated a 57% lower likelihood of IBDs in individuals with H. pylori infection. Another meta-analysis by Zhong et al. (2021) also found a negative correlation between H. pylori and IBD, and noted that eradication of H. pylori in IBD patients increased the likelihood of relapse.
Possible Mechanisms: Several mechanisms are proposed for the protective role of H. pylori:
Immune Modulation: H. pylori infection can induce regulatory T cells (Tregs), which suppress excessive immune activation. It can also downregulate pro-inflammatory pathways (Th1 and Th17 responses) by reducing levels of cytokines like TNF-α, IL-17, and IL-23.
Gut Microbiota Alterations: (Implied, but not explicitly detailed in this excerpt). Epithelial Interactions: (Implied, but not explicitly detailed in this excerpt).
Conflicting Evidence: Some studies, like Abd El-Wahab EW et al. (2021), did not find a clear negative correlation between H. pylori and IBD.
Confounding Factors: The protective effects of H. pylori might be influenced by other genetic or environmental factors that predispose individuals to either IBD or H. pylori acquisition.
