How Man’s Commonest Infection Kept its Secret: The H. pylori story
In a previous article, I discussed the great prevalence of peptic ulcer disease in the twentieth century (Peptic Ulcer: A Twentieth Century Disease – IFFGD Fact Sheet No. 509). Ulcer researchers became convinced that gastric acid was the cause of peptic ulcer and expended great effort to understand the physiology of acid secretion and to develop diets, drugs and surgical procedures to control acid secretion. Why did it take so long to understand the truth about ulcer disease? Does this history have any implications for the study of the functional gastrointestinal diseases (FGIDs)?
Topics: Bacteria, gut flora, Fact Sheet, Stomach Disorders