From Book News, Inc.
Surveys the current status of immunologic, microbiologic, and therapeutic prevention studies on the human pathogen H. pylori, which has been linked with gastric cancer. The 15 chapters describe diagnostic tests for detecting infection, the risk factors and pathology of peptic ulcers, eradication therapy, and the effects of antibiotics. Other contributions discuss natural substances with anti-H. pylori activity, how the microorganism binds to gastric cells, the involvement of H. pylori in autoimmune diseases, the effects of toxins from the organism on host cells, animal models for infection studies, and the development of a vaccine against Helicobacter.Copyright © 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Book Description
Today there is overwhelming evidence that Helicobacter pylori is the major cause of chronic active gastritis and that it may further predispose to peptic ulcers, of which there are several thousand cases in the US each year. The most severe clinical outcomes of H. pylori infection are mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and gastric cancer. Because of these findings, the implications for cancer etiology are intriguing. This book, a volume in the Infectious Agents and Pathogenesis series, presents chapters by major researchers in the field, including Dr. Barry Marshall whose research was responsible for establishing the linking of gastric ulcers with the H. pylori bacterium.

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