en Gastroenterology Gastroenterology Original Research Original Research <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; Background: </span></span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Helicobacter pylori is</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">a universal pathogen that causes gastric diseases and cancers in humans. In recent years, several virulence genes have been detected in this microorganism. Thus, we aimed to investigate the frequency of </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Helicobacter</span> <span style="font-size:9.0pt">pylori </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">strains</span></span> <span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">with </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">cytotoxin-associated gene A</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">(</span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">cagA</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">) and </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">outer membrane inflammatory protein A</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">(</span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">oipA</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">) genotypes among children and adult patients in Tehran, Iran, and evaluatetheir relation to themanifestations of different clinical symptoms.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; Methods: </span></span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">In this cross-sectional study, biopsy specimens were obtained from patients with gastrointestinal symptomsand evaluated for </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Helicobacter pylori infection</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">and its genotypes (</span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">cagA</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">/</span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">oipA) </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">througha polymerase chain reaction PCR assay. Clinical findings and demographic data of patients were documented and analyzed.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; Results: </span></span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">A total of 80 patients with </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Helicobacter pylori </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">infection</span></span> <span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">were included in the study (34 children and 46 adults). The </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">cagA </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">and </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">oipA </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">genotypes of </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Helicobacter pylori </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">were</span></span> <span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">identified in 22 (64.7%) and 24 (70.5%) children and in 31 (67.3%) and 34 (73.9%) adults, respectively. These differences were not statistically significant between the 2 studied groups. In addition, the frequency of </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">cagA</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">-positive strains of </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Helicobacter</span> <span style="font-size:9.0pt">pylori </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">was</span></span> <span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">found more among patients with gastric ulcers rather than other clinical outcomes.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">&nbsp;&nbsp; Conclusion: </span></span></b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">Our findings demonstrate a highfrequency of </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Helicobacter pylori strains </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">with </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">oipA </span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal">and </span></span><span style="font-size:9.0pt">cagA</span><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal"> genotypes among children and adults in this region. Although we could not find a significant relationship between virulence genes and clinical outcomes in the patients, further studies are suggested to evaluate these factors in patients and assess their potential roles in the presence of antibiotic-resistant strains.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:13pt"><span style="text-justify:kashida"><span style="text-kashida:0%"><span style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif"><span style="font-style:italic"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt"><span style="font-style:normal"></span></span></b></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> &nbsp; Helicobacter pylori, Prevalence, Virulence Factors, Children, Adults 169 173 http://mjiri.iums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-5830-2&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Abdolreza Esteghamati esteghamati@gmail.com 200319475328460076474 200319475328460076474 No Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Research Center, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Shirin Sayyahfar sayyahfar.sh@iums.ac.ir 200319475328460076475 200319475328460076475 No Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Research Center, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Khadijeh Khanaliha khanaliha.kh@gmail.com 200319475328460076476 200319475328460076476 No Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Research Center, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Ahmad Tavakoli Tavakoliahmad66@gmail.com 200319475328460076477 200319475328460076477 No Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Research Center, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, & Department of Virology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mehri Naghdalipour Naghdalipour@gmail.com 200319475328460076478 200319475328460076478 No 1. Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Research Center, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Mehdi Zarean zareanm@mums.ac.ir 200319475328460076479 200319475328460076479 No Department of Parasitology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran Morteza Haghighi Hasanabad mhaghighi@razi.tums.ac.ir 200319475328460076480 200319475328460076480 Yes Pediatrics Infectious Diseases Research Center, Institute of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran