Saniee et al. [21] used light microscopy and PCR for primary detection of nonculturable H. pylori in 11 Candida yeasts (six oral and five gastric) and showed

that inside yeast, H. pylori expresses proteins and is viable. These proteins appear to serve as powerful tools to help H. pylori establish itself in the vacuole of yeast where it can reach nutrients and proliferate. Furthermore, the same group found evidence of H. pylori genes in the mother’s vaginal and oral yeasts [22], a discovery that provides additional clues to the hypothesis of delivery transmission of H. pylori presented some years ago [23, 24]. The concomitant presence of the organism in several oral diseases has been reported in various studies, with discordant results. For example, Salehi et al. [25] determined and compared Protein Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor the prevalence of H. pylori in gingival crevicular fluid of patients with chronic periodontitis and healthy subjects Pexidartinib using PCR, showing no statistical

significant association between H. pylori and chronic periodontitis, thus concluding that infection of the oral cavity, even if it may act as a reservoir for H. pylori, does not seem to be involved in periodontal disease. On the other hand, Boylan et al. found a slightly increased risk of H. pylori infection (hazard ratio HR 1.4), gastric ulcers (HR 1.75), and duodenal ulcers (HR 1.47) in people affected by chronic periodontal disease [26], although this event could be explained by the fact that these patients are often smokers and present risk factors for peptic ulcer other than H. pylori. Finally, we report the observation that caries are more frequent in H. pylori-positive subjects (73.52%) than in negative ones (35.21%) [27] and that this bacterium has been found in association

with oral lesions such as ulcerative/inflammatory lesions, squamous cell carcinoma, and primary lymphoma [28]. A single report documented this association with alterations of taste and olfaction (cacosmia and cacogeusia) [29]. To bring more arguments for an oral reservoir of H. pylori, adding relevance for treatment, Song and Li designed an intervention learn more study including mouth rinse and periodontal treatment. They obtained significantly higher eradication rates, among those with a positive oral H. pylori test, in those who received mouth rinse and/or periodontal treatment in addition to the triple therapy [30]. In the literature, data concerning possible intestinal manifestations of an H. pylori infection are scanty. However, in the last year, various researchers focussed their attention on the relationship of H. pylori with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). All of the studies showed a low incidence of H. pylori infection in patients with IBD compared with normal controls. In a study by Jin et al. [31], the infection rate in patients affected by ulcerative colitis was 30.