Em. Witteman et al., BASAL SERUM GASTRIN-CONCENTRATIONS BEFORE AND AFTER ERADICATION OF HELICOBACTER-PYLORI INFECTION MEASURED BY SEQUENCE-SPECIFIC RADIOIMMUNOASSAYS, Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics, 8(5), 1994, pp. 515-519
Background: Helicobacter pylori infection of the antral mucosa is resp
onsible for an increase in basal and stimulated serum gastrin. In the
present study we have investigated whether gastritis induced by H. pyl
ori is responsible for abnormalities in the processing of gastrin in d
yspeptic patients. Methods: Basal serum gastrin was measured by radioi
mmunoassay before, 5 weeks, and 1 year after anti-H. pylori therapy in
73 H. pylori positive functional dyspeptic patients. Three region-spe
cific antisera were used, specific for the biologically active carboxy
-terminal part, the biologically inactive amino-terminal part of gastr
in 1-17, and for the non-sulphated tyrosyl residue in gastrin 1-17. Re
sults: Basal serum gastrin levels were markedly (P < 0.01) decreased 5
weeks and 1 year after successful eradication of H. pylori (n = 39) b
ut not in the patients in whom treatment failed (n = 34). A decline of
gastrin was observed for each of the three radioimmunoassays. Conclus
ion: The decrease of serum gastrin levels in all three radioimmunoassa
ys after a successful eradication of H. pylori does not point to major
changes in the processing of gastrin. These results suggest that G-ce
lls in the antral mucosa are not functionally affected by the inflamma
tion.