Among the variety of types of inflammatory diseases of the stomach, which today suffers almost every 2nd inhabitant of the planet, special attention should be paid to lymphoid( otherwise called lymphocytic) gastritis. According to the ICD-10, this disease belongs to special forms of stomach diseases.
Why this type of disease is given special attention? An ailment of this form is a fairly rare pathology that occurs against the backdrop of chronic gastritis, with unknown to the experts the causes that cause the appearance of the disease. Its main feature is the accumulation of lesions in the epithelium of the digestive organ of a large number of lymphocytes, which have the form of follicles.
In order to accurately determine that the patient has gastritis of the lymphocytic form, an endoscopic examination is mandatory, in which the specialist can observe the following pattern:
- The mucous membrane of the digestive organ is covered with granular growths of its lymphoid tissue similar to small wartsand it looks rough because of it;
- Epithelium has a pale pink color with thickened folds, on which there are small dot erosions.
Symptoms of lymphoid gastritis
With the lymphoid form of the disease, patients' complaints are very similar to the clinical picture present in Helicobacter pylori. They are usually expressed in the following:
- Painful sensations that manifest not only on an empty stomach( morning pains), but also after a while after eating;
- Sour eructations and frequent heartburn, but there is no decrease in appetite occurring in other inflammatory forms of gastrointestinal diseases;
- Disturbances of the stool, which are expressed in frequent constipation.
With the progression of lymphoid gastritis, symptoms such as heaviness in the stomach, accompanied by bloating, nausea, which goes into vomiting, begin to appear. Also, instability of the stool during the development of the disease varies with frequent constipation for diarrhea. If the disease is not treated, then its external symptoms appear, namely:
- The tongue is coated with a white coating;
- Cracks and jams at the corners of the mouth;
- Excessive thinness of the patient, despite the normal appetite.
Chronic lymphoid gastritis with lymphofollikular hyperplasia
With this type of disease, there is always a strong growth in the gastric mucosa of the follicular layer with a pathological increase in the number of its cells. This process develops usually because of hormonal disorders or due to the influence on the internal tissues of various negative influences.
Lympho-follicular hyperplasia in the lymphoid form of the disease always occurs when the patient has a chronic mixed gastritis, which is the result of infection with the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. Experts believe that such follicle formation is a response to the reproduction in the mucosa of these bacteria.
At the same time sweet lymphoid tissue located in the gastric mucosa thickens very much due to the formation of lymphocytic follicles. Often they can reach just huge sizes, because of what they can easily be mistaken for a false atrophy of the digestive organ.
For the most accurate diagnosis, to exclude any errors, with lymphoid gastritis with lymphofollikular hyperplasia, a fluoroscopic examination should always be used in addition to biopsy. This helps to clarify the degree of safety of the growth occurring in the mucous tissues of the stomach and the possible risk of their degeneration into a malignant neoplasm.
Only with complete and carefully conducted diagnostics there is an opportunity to prescribe the correct treatment of lymphocytic gastritis, as well as protect the body against possible recurrence of this dangerous and poorly studied form of the disease.