Peptic ulcer disease pathogenesis

III. Eradication of Helicobacter pylori C. This microorganism plays an important role in the pathogenesis of chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer disease. The combination of antibacterial drugs and omeprazole has proven effective. In case of intolerance to amoxicillin (p. 270) or clarithromycin (p. 276), metronidazole (p. 274) can be used as a substitute. Colloidal bismuth compounds are also effective however, the problem of heavy-metal exposure compromises their long-term use. 

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perforated duodenal ulcers in two schizophrenic patients who had been on large doses of haloperidol therapy (Szabo, unpublished observation).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. 

Although the first documented case of perforated peptic ulcer disease dates back more than 2,000 years to the western Han dynasty, the problem continues to confound physicians. In many instances, the first indication of a peptic ulcer may be the perforation itself, whereas in others, previous vague symptomatology suddenly culminates in acute perforation with peritonitis. The pathogenesis of the situation whereby an indolent or even chronic disease suddenly converts... 

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