Helicobacter pylori and Extradigestive Disorders in the Past 10 Years

While the association between Helicobacter pylori and other digestive conditions are still under the study, some authors have also investigated an expanding list of the studies on the role of H. pylori as a pathogenic determinant of some extraduodenal idiopathic diseases, such as cardiovascular, immunological, skin, liver, biliary tract, and various other disorders. Although it is still unclear how a localized infection may affect areas distant from the site of infection, it is supposed that H. pylori gastric infection may cause systemic illnesses through immunemediated mechanisms. This idea is based on the following points: (i) local inflammation can have systemic effects; (ii) gastric H. pylori infection is a chronic process that lasts for decades; (iii) persistent infection induces chronic inflammatory and immune responses that can cause lesions that are local or distant from the site of primary infection. In the past 10 years, an increasing number of studies concerning the association between H. pylori infection and extradigestive conditions have been reported. Most of these studies have documented the H. pylori infection by serology and Urease Breath Test (UBT), and rarely by PCR, and no one could isolate any H. pylori microorganism from samples, using culture method. Of course, the culture of this fastidious organism is extremely difficult; if not impossible. In this study, some of the recent papers are reviewed to find new scopes for the role of H. pylori in some kinds of extradigestive diseases.