Peptic ulcer disease clinical presentation

Finally, it is universally accepted at present that Helicobacter pylori infection has a definitive ethiological role in peptic ulcer disease, and that erradication therapy is warranted in these clinical scenarios. The majority of therapeutic trials have included the application of triple therapy with proton pump inhibitors or ranitidine bismuth citrate, clarithromycin and either amoxycillin or metronidazol and is to date the treatment of choice. However, recent studies have reported antibiotic resistance which can be one reason for failure of treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection [101-103], and new treatment strategies are therefore Wellcome. Flavonoids, in addition to their gastroprotective activity previously commented, have been also shown to inhibit Helicobacter pylori growth in vitro. In this way, Beil et al. [50]... 

Circunstantial evidence directly implicating dopamine in the pathogenesis of duodenal ulcer in man is the unusual incidence of peptic ulcer disease in dopamine-deficient disorders. From purely descriptive clinical and epidemiologic studies we know that patients with Parkinson s disease, before the introduction of dopamine therapy, had an excess of ulcer disease (72). One report even comments on the curiosity that after initiation of L-DOPA administration the ulcer symptoms have virtually disappeared (72 ). On the other hand, less clearly, schizophrenia which is associated with dopamine excess and/or receptor hyperactivity is accompanied by virtual lack, or decreased prevalence, of peptic ulcer (73-76). Schizophrenia associated with ulcer disease has been viewed as a reportable curiosity in medical literature (75). At present, possibly because of the widespread therapeutic application of neuroleptics, the lack of peptic ulcer disease in schizophrenics is less striking than in the past. On the other hand, we recently observed in our autopsy series perforated duodenal ulcers in two schizophrenic patients who had been on large doses of haloperidol therapy (Szabo, unpublished observation). Thus, even in man, dopamine may indeed be implicated in the pathogenesis of duodenal ulcer disease. 

Table III depicts a series of patients followed for the current studies. These individuals attended the outpatient clinic in Medellin and presented with abdominal symptoms. Following a detailed history and physical examination, gastroscopy was performed individuals with peptic ulcer disease or suspected gastric cancer were admitted to the hospital and were not included. This group, comprised of 41 male and 63 female patients, were representative of the poorer social class, and were consuming diets which were for the most part vegetarian. Intestinal...

Amylase enters the blood largely via the lymphatics. An increase in hydrostatic pressure in the pancreatic ducts leads to a fairly prompt rise in the amylase concentration of the blood. Neither an increase in volume flow of pancreatic juice nor stimulation of pancreatic enzyme production will cause an increase in senm enzyme concentration. Elevation of intraductal pressure is the important determinant. Stimulation of flow in the face of obstruction can, however, augment the entry of amylase into the blood, as can disruption of acinar cells and ducts. A functional pancreas must be present for the serum amylase to rise. Serum amylase determination is indicated in acute pancreatitis in patients with acute abdominal pain where the clinical findings are not typical of other diseases such as appendicitis, cholecystitis, peptic ulcer, vascular disease or intestinal obstruction. In acute pancreatitis, the serum amylase starts to rise within a few hours simultaneously with the onset of symptoms and remains elevated for 2 to 3 days after which it returns to normal. The peak level is reached within 24 hours. Absence of increase in serum amylase in first 24 hours after the onset of symptoms is evidence against a diagnosis of acute pancreatitis (76). 

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