Helicobacter pylori Infection and Upper Gastrointestinal Disorders

摘要

It has been thirty years since the two Australians Robin Warren and Barry Marshall discovered Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) in 1983 [1]. In order to fulfil the Koch's postulates, Marshall and Morris drank a solution which was a suspension of H. pylori. This produced gastritis from which the bacteria could be reisolated [2]. It will be interesting to see how the approach to treatment has progressed in these three decades after the discovery of the organism-based both on consensus guidelines and other research in this field. The changes in the consensus statements have been highlighted. The isolation of H. pylori from the gastric mucosa and the report of the organism's urease activity generated excitement especially when it was postulated by Marshall that these microorganisms could be the cause of gastritis and could be a dominant etiological factor in the pathogenesis of peptic ulcer disease (PUD). With the isolation of H. pylori, floodgates opened to a new era of discovery and understanding of gastroduodenal pathology.