Symptoms, causes, treatment and more

Atrophic gastritis (AG), also called metaplasic atrophic gastritis (MAG), is a chronic (durable) inflammation of the lining of the stomach, which leads to the thinning and loss of protective cells which help digestion in the stomach. AG is a precancerous condition that increases your risk of gastric cancer (stomach).

This condition is often caused by a Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) Bacterial infection or an autoimmune reaction that occurs when your immune system attacks cells in your gastric lining.

Researchers estimate that around 2% of people experience atrophic gastritis (AG). Experts suspect that the number can be higher because symptoms can often go unnoticed or are confused with another condition. The cause of the condition defines the two types of GA.

Autoimmune

In Auto-Simmune metaplasic atrophic gastritis (AMAG), the body produces antibodies against specialized cells called parietal cells in the lining of the stomach. Your body wrongly attacks and destroys your parietal cells as if they were invaders. This attack means that you produce less acids and enzymes that help digestion. The Amag is a genetically hereditary condition.

Environment

The other subtype is environmental metaplasic atrophic gastritis (EMAG), which is caused by H. pylori infection. In the United States, around 50% of the United States H. pylori At 60 years old. H. pylori is more frequent among blacks, Hispanics and Asians than other groups, and EMAG can be slightly more widespread in people assigned by men at birth.

Atrophic gastritis can be asymptomatic, which means you may not feel symptoms. The most common symptom is anemia. Anemia occurs when you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells to transport oxygen throughout your body. This can happen due to bleeding from the stomach lining, reduced gastric acid production, increased hormonal regulation of iron or the use of your iron by H. pylori.

Anemia can cause symptoms such as:

• Headache
• Heart palpitations
• Irritability
• Loss of appetite
• Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
• Difficulty concentrating
• Slower with an effort
• Fatigue

Without treatment, you can develop more advanced symptoms of atrophic gastritis. These symptoms are rare and are not always specific to the GA:

AG’s most frequent cause is a H. pylori infection. In the United States, around 30 to 50% H. pylori Infection at some point in their lives.

In most cases, exposure to H. pylori occurs in childhood, but infection does not cause any notable symptoms. This infection attacks your stomach lining and causes inflammation. It also destroys cells that produce substances to protect your stomach lining and help digestion.

The second most common cause is an autoimmune reaction to parietal cells. An autoimmune reaction occurs when the immune system wrongly produces antibodies to destroy these cells.

Your parietal cells are responsible for the secretion of acids that help digestion food and the absorption of minerals and control the accumulation of harmful bacteria. Gastritis can occur with damage to parietal cells.

Risk factors

A research review has examined several studies on risk factors for AG. The most important risk factor is H. pylori infection. In particular, two bacteria genes can affect the severity of the infection. If bacteria are positive for these genes, caga Where goesCalifornia, You may have a much higher risk of GA.

Other factors that can increase your risk:

• Be affected at birth
• Be over 60
• A precancerous condition called intestinal metaplasia (IM)
• Eat a rich salt diet

The AG does not always cause symptoms, so it is difficult to know when requesting care from a health professional.

People often receive a diagnosis after having undergone an endoscopy, a procedure that uses a thin tube attached to a small camera to check the modifications of the organs and the gastric lining. If your supplier suspects GA, he can also recommend a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.

Your health care provider, generally a gastroenterologist – a doctor specializing in digestive conditions, can also order blood tests to determine the severity of your condition. These tests will probably test the digestive enzymes, the production of gastric acid, H. pylori, and parietal cellular antibodies.

The treatment plans often depend on the underlying cause of your state, whether it is a H. pylori Autoimmune infection or reaction.

If you test positive for a H. pylori Infection, the main treatment is to cure infection. A doctor can prescribe a series of antibiotics for 10 to 14 days. The type of antibiotics prescribed by your health care provider depends on the tension H. pylori.

Your health professional will check your blood after treatment to make sure that the infection has disappeared. In some cases, getting rid of your infection can reverse damage to the lining of your stomach. Your supplier can also offer you a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) if you experience stomach symptoms.

If you test negative for a H. pylori Infection, indicating autoimmune gastritis, there is no specific treatment. Your health care provider will determine a treatment plan according to the type of antibody you have and the level of inflammation. They can recommend supplementation in vitamin B12. They may also want to make regular endoscopies to check the changes.

Preventing AG is not simple. Exhibition at H. pylori This often happens in childhood and does not detect. We don’t know how exactly how exactly how H. pylori spreads, adding to the prevention challenge. Experts think you get H. pylori By ingesting water or contaminated food.

Try to practice good hand hygiene to prevent infection, but don’t forget that many people have already contracted infection at an early age.

Your diet can play a role. A 2017 study revealed that a high salt intake was associated with an increased risk of GA. This can help reduce your sodium intake.

AG is often found with or progresses towards another precancerous condition called intestinal metaplasia (IM). In IM, the cells of your gastric lining are replaced by cells normally found in the mucosa of your intestines. This can happen when your stomach mucosa (lining) is damaged by H. pylori Or an autoimmune reaction, and your body repairs damage by replacing the cells with the bad type of cells.

IM does not cause symptoms. Having IMA increases your risk of gastric cancer more because it causes more changes in the stomach lining than AG.

You can also develop other conditions related to atrophic gastritis, in particular:

• Achlorhydria: Lack of production of gastric acid
• Chronic iron anemia: Anemia due to a lack of iron absorption in the blood
• Macrocytic anemia: Anemia due to abnormal red blood cells of an autoimmune condition
• Gastric or peptic ulcers: Wounds in the lining of your stomach or the first part of your small intestine.
• Hemorrhagic gastritis: Bleeding from the stomach lining
• Gastric adenocarcinoma: Gastric cancer
• Rare cancers: Lymphoid tissue associated with the mucosa (malt) and gastric carcinoid tumor, cancers that affect the stomach

If you follow a treatment for a H. pylori Infection, it is a good idea to continue treatment until your health professional determines that your infection has been erased. You may have to undergo several cycles of antibiotics to get rid of your infection.

It is important to keep your appointments if a healthcare professional recommends endoscopies. If there are areas of concern or modifications to an advanced precancerous state, you may need to make these areas biopsy.

Your health care provider may prescribe vitamin B12 supplementation to reconstruct your low level of vitamin. Iron deficiency is a common development of the GA, so you may also need an iron supplement.