The Theory of Pylori Causing Crohn's Disease |
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The Helicobacter Pylori bacterium has been recently identified as a cause in the formation of ulcers within the digestive system. Helicobacter Pylori is a type of bacteria residing within the digestive tract, specifically in the stomach and in the duodenum (part of the small intestine where the stomach and intestine join). The commonality of Helicobacter Pylori infections has led some patients to develop a theory of Pylori causing Crohn's Disease.
Crohn's Disease is a serious condition marked by inflammation of the digestive tract. Because ulceration can occur in Crohn's Disease, some feel there is probability of Pylori causing Crohn's Disease. However, there is no conclusive evidence of Pylori causing Crohn's Disease.
Helicobacter Pylori infections are extremely common, affecting over a billion people. Researchers believe that more than half the senior population of the United States has experienced infection with Helicobacter Pylori. Because the infection can last for years, it often creates ulcers.
This is the crux of the Pylori causing Crohn's Disease theory. This may be because ulcerative colitis, a term often used interchangeably with Crohn's Disease, is also a disease involving chronic inflammation and ulcers affecting part of the digestive system (specifically the lower intestine, in the case of ulcerative colitis).
However, this is not proof of the theory of Pyloric causing Crohn's Disease. Although Helicobacter Pylori bacterium is present in an estimated 80% of patients presenting with ulcers, it does not necessarily cause ulcerative colitis nor Crohn's Disease. It is only positively known to cause ulcers within its resident areas, the stomach and duodenum.
The specific causes of Crohn's Disease are unproved. Some researchers feel that the causes are genetic, inherited from family members who also have the illness. Problems in the immune system, specifically the immune system’s defense response, have been blamed. It is thought that the immune system mistakenly identifies tissue in the digestive tract as being a foreign entity and attacks it.
Research has been conducted into the potential influence of environmental toxins and specific infections in the development of Crohn's Disease, but this research has produced no evidence that either toxins or infections are to blame for Crohn's Disease. Therefore the chances of Pylori causing Crohn's Disease are slim.
Because some doctors treat the immune response and infections related to Crohn's Disease with antibiotics, some feel that the treatment of Helicobacter Pylori infections can help to treat Crohn's Disease. Some even go so far as to claim that Crohn's Disease may be put into remission by the usage of antibiotics. This may seem to support the theory of Pylori causing Crohn's Disease, but it may be more likely that the antibiotics fight infection occurring in patients with immune systems compromised by the presence of Crohn's Disease.
The reduction of symptoms such as infection-related inflammation and fevers may alleviate suffering from Crohn's Disease, but is not widely considered proof of a causal relationship between Helicobacter Pylori and Crohn's Disease.
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