摘要
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: We 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. We 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 we 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.
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： We 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. We 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 we 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.
