Association between Helicobacter pylori infection and inflammatory bowel disease: a meta-analysis and systematic review of the literature

Chinese medicine enema for treatment of patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis: Therapeutic effect and regulatory effect on adiponectin

AIM: To observe the clinical effects of traditional Chinese medicine enema in patients with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis (UC) and its effect on adiponectin levels.

METHODS: A stratified randomized clinical trial was carried out. A total of 106 patients with UC were divided into two groups: an observation group and a control group. Patients in the observation group (n = 53) were given mesalazine and traditional Chinese medicine enema, while patients in the control group (n = 53) were given mesalazine only. The period of treatment was 4 wk. The adiponectin levels in patients with UC, disease activity index (DAI) and laboratory indicators were evaluated, and adverse reactions were recorded.

RESULTS: No case dropped out. The adiponectin level, disease activity index and laboratory indicators showed a significant decrease in both groups after treatment, and the decrease was more significant in the observation group.

CONCLUSION: Combination of traditional Chinese medicine enema and mesalazine is more effective and has fewer adverse effects than mesalazine alone in the treatment of patients with mild to moderate UC.

Helicobacter pylori and Crohn’s disease: A retrospective single-center study from China

AIM: To investigate the association between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and the prevalence of Crohn’s disease (CD).

METHODS: Subjects were selected from patients admitted the gastrointestinal (GI) department at The First Affiliated Hospital School of Medicine (Zhejiang University) for abdominal pain, hematochezia, diarrhea and other GI symptoms between January 2008 and September 2012. CD was diagnosed by endoscopy and biopsy. H. pylori infection was detected by a ¹⁴C-urea breath test and culturing of the biopsy sample. Demographic, anthropometric and serologic data were collected for each patient. H. pylori infection rate was compared between CD and control groups, followed by a subgroup analysis based on extent and severity of CD. Student’s t, Mann-Whiney U, and χ² tests were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS: A total of 447 patients were analyzed, including 229 in the CD group and 248 in the control group. There were no significant differences in age, sex, and rates of hypertension or diabetes. However, the CD group showed significantly higher rates of smoking history (34.9% vs 18.1%), alcohol intake (17.4% vs 8.1%), white blood cell count (9.7 ± 2.9 × 10⁹/L vs 4.3 ± 0.9 × 10⁹/L), and C-reactive protein (36.3 ± 20.8 mg/L vs 5.5 ± 2.3 mg/L) but lower body mass index (24.5 ± 2.0 kg/m²vs 26.0 ± 2.2 kg/m²) than the control group. The H. pylori infection rate in the CD group was 27.1%, significantly lower than that of 47.9% in the control group. Furthermore, the H. pylori infection rates in patients with colonic, small intestine, ileocolonic and extensive CD were 31.1%, 28.9%, 26.8% and 25.9% respectively, all of which were significantly lower than in the control group. Finally, the H. pylori infection rates in patients with remission, moderate and severe CD were 34.3%, 30.7% and 22.0% respectively, which were also significantly lower than in the control group.

CONCLUSION: Lower H. pylori infection in CD patients suggests a correlation between bacterial infection and CD, suggesting caution when considering H. pylori eradication in CD patients.