Approach to Role of Capsaicin - Sensitive Afferent Nerves in the Development and Healing in Patients with Chronic Gastritis

Abstract

The intact gastrointestinal mucosa can be kept as good equilibrium between the aggressive and defensive factors. These factors have not been fully discovered, however the main aggressive factors are well defined. Gastritis is defined as a pathomorphological appearance of inflammation in the gastric mucosa. Gastritis may be caused by different factors such as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), bacterial overgrowth in a hypochlorohydric stomach, autoimmune mechanisms or chemical agents such as short and long-term nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug therapy. The possible physiological, pathological and pharmacological role(s) of afferent nerves has (have) not been analyzed just recent studies search on its most important role(s) in GI physiology, pathology and pharmacology. Our attention has been focused on capsaicinsensitive afferent nerves during the last decades. The possible roles of the capsaicin-sensitive afferent nerves have been approached to gastrointestinal tract from the years of 1980 by our work-team in animal experiments, in healthy human subjects with histological intact and in patients with different disorders (Mozsik et al., 1997, 2001, 2005a, 2007). Capsaicin (given it in small doses) protected the gastrointestinal mucosal damage induced by different necrotizing agents (such as physical, chemical, drugs, etc.) in animal experiments and in human healthy subjects, in patients with different gastrointestinal disorders (Mozsik et al., 1997, 2005a, 2007, 2009). The functional state of some part of afferent nerves (capsaicin-sensitive afferent nerves) can be modified by application of capsaicin by a dose-dependent process (capsaicin, given in small doses stimulates, meanwhile given in higher dose produces reversible and irreversible inhibition or impairment) (Szolcsanyi et al., 1984a; Mozsik et al., 2001).