Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) in peptic ulcer disease with Helicobacter pylori

Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) is related to the pathogenesis of Crohn’s disease as digestive tract inflammation. But the relationship between ASCA and peptic ulcer as upper digestive tract inflammation is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of ASCA positivity in patients with peptic ulcer and the relationship between ASCA and Helicobacter pylori. Total 128 patients with peptic ulcer were enrolled at Nagoya university hospital from 1999 to 2005. Serum samples obtained from with all peptic ulcer patients were examined. Determination of ASCA was performed by ELISA method. All patients were confirmed H. pylori infection. 10 patients with H. pylori infection were treated with eradication therapy. Fifty-five patients of 128 were suffered from active peptic ulcer. Of 128, 38 patients were ASCA-positive. 34 patients of 38 ASCA positive patients were active ulcer and other 4 patients were ulcer-scar. ASCA positivity in active ulcer patients was more significant than that in ulcer-scar. The H. pylori–positive patients were 78. Thirty patients were ASCA positive in 78 H. pylori positive. Eight patients was ASCA positive in 50 H. pylori negative patients. ASCA in H. pylori positive was increasing more than that in H. pylori negative patients significantly. ASCA positivity was found to be correlated with eradication. All successful eradication patients were ASCA negative after treatment even if 3 patients were ASCA positive before eradication therapy. Our results show that ASCA is associated with both peptic ulcer and H. pylori infection.