Does the stomach adapt to Helicobacter pylori?

To shed some light on the question of gastric adaptation to Helicobacter pylori infection, an overview is given of the various histopathological and clinical consequences of H. pylori infection in man. H. pylori infection can be considered as a chronic bacterial infection. For many individuals there is a balance between a low degree of infection and a low degree of inflammation. The microbial or host factors in adaptation of this balance are largely unknown. If and how 'downregulation' of the inflammatory/immune response does occur need further study.