title: Correlation between the Serum Pepsinogen I Level and the Symptom Degree in Proton Pump Inhibitor-Users Administered with a Probiotic.
abstract: In patients with functional upper gastrointestinal disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease and functional dyspepsia, the presence of symptoms is thought to occur in the absence of any organic diseases and the mechanisms behind this remain unclear. We therefore examined the relationship between stomach-related biomarker levels and symptoms. Twenty-four outpatients who had taken proton-pump inhibitors every day were enrolled in this study. The subjects consumed yogurt containing 109 colony-forming units of Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2716 (LG21) every day for three months. They underwent four clinical examinations in total. Each examination consisted of answering a questionnaire with a frequency scale for the symptoms of GERD (FSSG), and included measurements of the serum gastrin, ghrelin, and pepsinogens I and II levels. As a result, the FSSG score and the PGI value showed a decrease and an increase, respectively, after LG21 treatment when analyzed without age adjustment. A multiple regression analysis with additional adjustments for gender and age revealed a strong association between the PGI value and the FSSG symptom scores. Therefore either the PGI level itself or the factors regulating the PGI level might be involved in the etiology of these symptoms.
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan. muneki@tokai-u.jp.
authors: Muneki
authors: M
authors: Igarashi
authors: Faculty of Arts and Science, Kyushu University, Kasuga 816-8580, Japan. jun@artsci.kyushu-u.ac.jp.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Nagano
authors: General Internal Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan. ayu0v0ayu@gmail.com.
authors: Ayumi
authors: A
authors: Tsuda
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan. takayoshi@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
authors: Takayoshi
authors: T
authors: Suzuki
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan. jkoike@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Koike
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan. ucchicchi1025@yahoo.co.jp.
authors: Tetsufumi
authors: T
authors: Uchida
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan. mmatsush@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
authors: Masashi
authors: M
authors: Matsushima
authors: Department of Gastroenterology, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan. tetsu-m@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
authors: Tetsuya
authors: T
authors: Mine
authors: Laboratory for Infectious Diseases, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara 259-1193, Japan. yasuhiro@is.icc.u-tokai.ac.jp.
authors: Yasuhiro
authors: Y
authors: Koga