title: Autoimmune thyroid diseases and Helicobacter pylori: the correlation is present only in Graves's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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
  Authors 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. Authors 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 authors found only a correlation with Cag-A strains (P ≤ 0.005, OR 8.73) but not when H. pylori was present.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: UOC di Medicina Interna, San Giovanni Bosco Hospital, ASL Na-1 Centro, Naples 80144, Italy. dr_bassi@inwind.it
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bassi
authors.forename: Gennaro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Iengo
authors.forename: Olimpia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Fattoruso
authors.forename: Crescenzo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Santinelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D050031:Hashimoto Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C080866:cagA protein, Helicobacter pylori