Resolution of protein-losing hypertrophic lymphocytic gastritis with therapeutic eradication of Helicobacter pylori.

Abstract

Lymphocytic gastritis (LG) is a recently described histological entity characterized by increased lymphocytes in the superficial gastric epithelium and foveolae. It includes a subgroup of patients with giant gastric folds and, often, a protein-losing state, a condition termed hypertrophic lymphocytic gastritis (HLG). Despite close endoscopic and clinical similarities to classical Menetrier's disease, the histopathological features of these two diseases are sufficiently distinct that they are regarded as separate entities. The etiology and pathogenesis of HLG are unknown, and the possible etiological role of Helicobacter pylori in particular is controversial. For this reason we report the case of a 48-yr-old female with HLG, hypoproteinemia, and H. pylori infection whose disease resolved clinically, endoscopically, and pathologically with therapeutic eradication of the H. pylori. H. pylori infection may be a treatable cause of at least some cases of HLG and should therefore be carefully sought in any patient with this condition.