Eradication of Helicobacter pylori reduce disease activity and severity in systemic sclerosis

Background Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) is suspected to be one of the factors triggering systemic sclerosis (SSc). Many reports have emerged describing the pathogenetic potential of H pylori. Data on the possible role of H pylori are lacking. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the effect of H pylori eradication in SSc patients. Methods Forty-two SSc patients without dyspeptic symptoms were recruited (38 women and 4 men, mean age 54.3±13.6 years, median disease duration 6 years with minimum-maximum range 1–43 years) – 26 were H pylori-positive and 16 were H pylori-negative on the basis of invasive test. The same operator, blind to clinical features, performed upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in all patients. All infected patients were treated successfully. The authors evaluated the disease severity using clinical and laboratory parameters according to a modified Medsger severity scale at baseline and every 6 months during 18 months, and compared the variations in the two subgroups. The level of SSc activity was evaluated before eradication and during a 18 months follow-up period in the similar time intervals. This study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and its revisions, and the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of University Hospital Split. All patients gave informed consent to participate in the study. Results After 18 months, H pylori-eradicated SSc patients differed significantly (p