Study: Eliminating Ulcer Bacteria May Also Help Rheumatoid Arthritis

Elimination of the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria, which is linked to duodenal and gastric ulcers, also appears to reduce the severity of rheumatoid arthritis, according to researchers at the Università di Genova in Italy.

The researchers studied a total of 58 adults with rheumatoid arthritis with dyspeptic symptoms (gastric discomfort after eating). Twenty-eight of the patients tested positive for H. pylori infection.

The infected patients were treated and clinical and laboratory measurements of rheumatoid arthritis were assessed at the beginning of the study and every four months for two years.

All of the patients with H. pylori were cleared of their infection and showed significant improvement in all measurements of rheumatoid arthritis.

The patients without H. pylori showed little change over the course of the study, according to the report in the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

This data suggests that H. pylori is implicated in the disease process of rheumatoid arthritis and its eradication may cause a significant improvement in patients over a two-year period, reported the researchers.

"H. pylori eradication seems to be advantageous in infected rheumatoid arthritis patients, but controlled studies are needed," concluded the researchers.

Other sources: Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics