Helicobacter pylori Infection and Extragastric Diseases-A Focus on the Central Nervous System

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is most known to cause a wide spectrum of gastrointestinal impairments; however, an increasing number of studies indicates that H. pylori infection might be involved in numerous extragastric diseases such as neurological, dermatological, hematologic, ocular, cardiovascular, metabolic, hepatobiliary, or even allergic diseases. In this review, we focused on the nervous system and aimed to summarize the findings regarding H. pylori infection and its involvement in the induction/progression of neurological disorders. Neurological impairments induced by H. pylori infection are primarily due to impairments in the gut-brain axis (GBA) and to an altered gut microbiota facilitated by H. pylori colonization. Currently, regarding a potential relationship between Helicobacter infection and neurological disorders, most of the studies are mainly focused on H. pylori.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis; Devic syndrome; Guillain–Barré syndrome; Helicobacter pylori; Parkinson’s disease; gut–brain axis; migraine; multiple sclerosis; nervous system; stroke.