Spontaneous remission of hypertrophic lymphocytic gastritis associated with hypoproteinemia

A 54-year-old woman came to our office because of pretibial edema. She had no gastrointestinal symptoms. Laboratory tests revealed severe hypoproteinemia. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy demonstrated enlarged gastric folds and multiple aphthoid nodules on the body and the fornix of the stomach. The biopsy specimen revealed a large number of CD8 positive intraepithelial T-lymphocytes infiltrating the gastric mucosa. Both serum total protein and the gastric lesions improved eight months after her first visit without any therapy for peptic ulcer or eradication of Helicobacter pylori. The data suggest that spontaneous remission may occur in lymphocytic gastritis without any gastrointestinal symptoms.