Are Helicobacter species and enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis involved in inflammatory bowel disease?
The aim of this study was to determine if either Helicobacter or enterotoxigenic Bacteroidesfragilis (ETBF) was linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), using PCR. We analyzed the luminal washings and colonic biopsies of 35 patients with IBD and 37 control patients. The presence of Helicobacter was confirmed in the luminal washing of one IBD patient and three control patients and in the biopsies of two IBD patients. Ten of 28 control patients and 8 of 32 IBD patients had a positive luminal washing for the enterotoxin gene. Six of 33 control patients and 4 of 32 IBD patients had positive biopsies. The prevalence of the enterotoxin gene was higher in IBD patients with active disease compared with patients with inactive disease, although it did not achieve statistical significance. In conclusion, Helicobacter was not associated with IBD in our population of patients, although ETBF may be associated with active disease.
Centre for Infectious Diseases and International Health, Windeyer Institute of Medical Sciences, Royal Free & University College London Medical School, The Windeyer Building, 46 Cleveland Street, London WIT 4JF, United Kingdom.
Christelle
C
Basset
John
J
Holton
Alexandra
A
Bazeos
Dino
D
Vaira
Stuart
S
Bloom
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001442:Bacteroides Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D001441:Bacteroides fragilis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001483:Base Sequence; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016017:Odds Ratio; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D011336:Probability; D018570:Risk Assessment; D017678:Sex Distribution
D004269:DNA, Bacterial