For
their remarkable discovery that inflammation and ulceration of
the stomach (gastritis and peptic ulcer) are caused by the
bacterium Helicobacter pylori, Dr Robin Warren and Dr
Barry Marshall were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in
October 2005.
They
found that the Helicobacter pylori bacterium was present
in almost all patients with gastric inflammation, duodenal ulcer
or gastric ulcer.
Indeed, it is now firmly established that
H. pylori causes more than 90% of duodenal ulcers and up
to 80% of gastric ulcers.
Helicobacter pylori causes life-long infection
About 50% of all humans (and virtually everyone in developing
countries) are infected with Helicobacter pylori.
Infection is typically contracted in early childhood, frequently
by transmission from mother to child, and the bacteria may
remain in the stomach for the rest of the person's life.
The infection is usually present without
symptoms, but can cause peptic ulcer
In
most individuals, H. pylori infection does not give rise to
symptoms. However, about 10-15% of infected people will
experience peptic ulcer disease at some time. Such ulcers are
more common in the duodenum than in the stomach itself.
Complications can include severe bleeding and perforation.
Helicobacter pylori infection also
associated with malignancies
If
the bacterium also infects the upper regions of the stomach,
this can predispose to ulcers higher up, as well as stomach
cancer. Whilst this cancer has decreased in incidence in many
countries over the last 50 years or so, it still ranks as number
two in the world as a whole in terms of cancer deaths.
Is there a microbial origin of other chronic inflammatory
conditions?
Chronic inflammation is linked with many diseases, such as
ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, and
atherosclerosis, among other. Research is ongoing into possible
microbial causes of inflammation, and scientists have now linked
this common bacterial infection to the development of
Alzheimer's disease.
Antibiotics may cure
but can lead to resistance
H. pylori infection can be diagnosed by antibody tests, by
the non-invasive breath test which identifies bacterial
production of an enzyme in the stomach, or via biopsies taken
during endoscopy. Antibiotics should not be used
indiscriminately to eradicate H. pylori before these
tests have been carried out, as this can lead to problems with
bacterial resistance against these drugs.
If not antibiotics, then what?
Natural supplements such as mastic gum, garlic and vitamin C
have been shown to be an effective treatment for ulcers.
Mastic gum eliminates Helicobacter
pylori
Research from the University of Nottingham in the UK found that
mastic gum eliminated seven of its drug-resistant forms.
In a
two-week double-blind study, researchers gave 38 patients with
duodenal ulcers one gram of mastic gum per day, whilst another
group were given a placebo. The group given mastic gum had 80%
fewer ulcer symptoms, compared with 50% fewer symptoms in the
placebo group. Doctors examined the patients with endoscope (a
flexible viewing instrument) and found that 70% of those who had
received mastic gum had healed gastric tissue, while only 22% of
those in the placebo had healed. This study was reported in
Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology.
Mastic gum produced no side effects.
Clinical experience with mastic gum
Leo Galland MD of New York City
is well known for his expertise with chronic gastric disorders,
intestinal permeability ("leaky gut syndrome"), ulcers, and
dyspepsia. This work has led him to use mastic gum with his
patients, especially when H. pylori is present. Says Dr
Galland on mastic gum, "I am treating patients with dyspepsia
and gastritis who also have Helicobacter in the stool. I
do not use synthetic antibiotics, just mastic gum. In my
experience, a dosage of 500mg to 1 gram twice a day for two
weeks has produced a clearing of symptoms associated with the
elimination of the Helicobacter antigen from the stool.
Ninety percent experience a clearing of symptoms, and 80%
experience an elimination of Helicobacter in the stool
after only two weeks.
Garlic and Vitamin C
Allicin, from garlic, has been shown to reduce H. pylori
by approximately 25%, whilst allicin combined with conventional
antibiotic therapy had 66% to 90% less infection. Vitamin
C has also been shown to be helpful in some people, when taken
at a rate of 1000mg four times per day.
