Helicobacter pylori and Gastroduodenal Disorders

In 1982, researchers were able to culture and characterize Campylobacter species organisms, which they called C. pyloridis and which are now known as Helicobacter pylori. H. pylori is now known to also play an etiological role in peptic ulcer disease as well as in the development of distal gastric adenocarcinomas and gastric lymphomas. As such, a previously obscure organism has now been associated with many of the most important gastroduodenal diseases. H. pylori were initially classified as belonging to the genus Campylobacter. Epidemiological studies have used techniques like restriction fragment length polymorphism and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA PCR to exploit the heterogeneity, for example, for studies of transmission of H. pylori infection. Thus, H. pylori is an “emerging infection” with respect to our knowledge about it, but at the same time it is disappearing from the population in developed countries. The main indication for treatment of H. pylori is the occurrence of peptic ulcer disease. As such, H. pylori infection has probably been the most important emerging infection of the past decade, and the recognition of its role in peptic ulcer disease has had a major impact on health care worldwide. Several investigators have recently claimed that chronic H. pylori gastritis is associated with a variety of extragastrointestinal disorders, such as delayed growth and malnutrition in children in developed countries. The major noninvasive methods, not requiring endoscopy, are serology and breath testing.