STUDY OF THE EPIDERMAL GROWTH FACTOR IN PORTAL HYPERTENSIVE GASTROPATHY

Abstract

Portal hypertensive gastropathy (PHG) is a frequent endoscopic finding seen in the gastric mucosa of portal hypertensive patients and is responsible for about 20% of episodes of bleeding in these patients.

The pathogenesis of PHG is still not fully understood. Portal hypertension and splanchnic venous congestion seem not to be the only mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of such endoscopic findings. Impaired gastric mucosal defense mechanisms in portal hypertensive patients and gastric mucosal injury were thought to have a role in the pathogenesis of these endoscopic findings seen in those patients.

The mm of the present work was to elucidate any possible relationship of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to the development of PHG. To achieve this goal, 16 patients with PHG (group I) and another 16 portal hypertensive patients without PHG (group II), in addition to 10 healthy volunteers (group III) were studied. Half of subjects in each