11.   The gastric peptic activity derives from a diversity of intracellular enzymes whose activity depends on the rate of secretion and the ambient pH.

12.   Peptic activity is pH dependent and pepsin is irreversibly denaturated at alkaline pH.

13.   The relation between total gastric pepsinogen secretion in vitro and the peptic activity in vivo is not fully understood.

14.   An effort to correlate mucosal pepsinogen accumulation with total peptic activity and peptic cell mass shows good correlation between these parameters in normal and inflamed gastric mucosa.

15.   The mechanism by which H pylori causes reduced peptic activity is unknown.

16.   In this regard the adrenergic stimulated pepsinogen secretion mediated by cAMP, may become an alternate pathway of bacteria induced decrease of peptic activity.

17.   Reduced peptic activity in consonance with achlorhydria may favour opportunistic infection located in or in transit through the upper gastrointestinal tract of these patients.