A review of Helicobacter pylori and what it may do to you

Andrew J C Carmichael BDS

Abstract

A review of the available literature on Helicobacter pylori shows a wide range of conditions in which it is a factor as demonstrated either by improvement in the condition following eradication or by finding DNA of, or antigen to the bacterium.

The variety of conditions, many of which develop over decades, leads to serious consideration of the benefits of eradication of this infection as a matter of routine. Its importance could be equated with that of the eradication of TB, HPV or poliomyelitis and development of an appropriate vaccine would be valuable. In particular the involvement of Helicobacter pylori in long-term conditions affecting quality of life in old age will result in an ever increasing cost to health services in years to come.

Helicobacter pylori is a known carcinogen, recognised as such in 1994, and yet it is still tolerated.

There should be great concern about the gap in time between research findings and the practical medical use of them in the routine treatment of patients (1). Many of these treatment regimes have had quite a number of years to infiltrate the profession and yet apparently little is done to deal with an easily eradicated well-known pathogen.

Eradication of Helicobacter pylori, a common stomach bacterium, can greatly reduce your chances of suffering one or more of these diseases or in some cases, reduce the symptoms already noticed:

• gastritis/ dyspepsia (2)(5)
• gastric / duodenal ulcer (3)(4)(5)
• gastric cancer (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)
• high blood pressure (9)(10)(11)(12)
• resolution of Syndrome X (heart and chest pain) (13)
• altered lipid metabolism leads to obesity, heart attack and stroke (14)(15)(16)
• iron deficiency anaemia (17)(18)
• abnormal blood counts (neutrophils and monocytes) (19)(20)
• neurological damage such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, MS, ME, optic nerve damage leading to blindness due to Vitamin B12 deficiency (21)(22)(23)(24)
• chronic sub-clinical vitamin deficiency of A, B6, B12, C, E (25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30)
• skin conditions such as itchy, flaky, hard skin (31)(32)
• rheumatoid arthritis (33)
• chronic cholecystitis (34)
• glaucoma (35)(36)
• insulin resistance (37)
• macular degeneration leading to blindness (38)
• periodontal disease, tooth loss, reservoir of Hp infection in mouth (39)(40)(41)
• some sexually acquired infections of nipples, vulva (42)

Many patients present with more than one of these conditions.

These are the subjects of a large number of peer-reviewed articles in respected journals over many years. ( reference list in numerical order )

Now it is time to do something about it.

Proposition

That ALL PD, AD, MS, medical and gastroenterology surgical patients should be tested for Helicobacter sp (43) and appropriate eradication commenced as a matter of routine using antibiotics with preceding probiotics (Bifidus and lactobacillus) to maintain a normal balance of beneficial gut bacteria (50)(51). This should be in addition to continuing dietary supplementation with omega-3 oils and / or fish oils and vitamin supplements as appropriate.

Reason for study

This study was initiated because of an interest in the results of work showing an improvement in the condition of some patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) following total eradication of Helicobacter pylori. In some cases this improvement amounted to regression of the condition (22)(23). It soon became apparent that the range was far wider than at first realised and the significance of the infection for health care costs throughout ever lengthening lives became obvious.

Equally it became apparent that hospital trusts can make considerable cost savings in gastroenterology by using probiotics prior to surgical treatment and by early eradication of Helicobacter thus reducing the development of conditions expensive to treat (50)(51)

Eradicating Helicobacter pylori will reduce the amount of antigen to it which circulates in blood and which has been suggested as the cause of death of sensitive long-axon nerve cells possibly because it stimulates platelet activity. This is a putative cause of neuropathies (49).

A possible solution

There is a food additive widely used in the processed food industry and therefore already of proven safety for human consumption.

6-O-palmitoyl-l-ascorbate, (E 304), (PA) is a lipid-soluble variant of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid). It is already in use in anti-wrinkle creams, infant formula milk, beefburgers (as an antioxidant preventing ‘greying’ of the meat) and is used by bodybuilders to add collagen to their intestinal and over-developed muscles. It also has the effect of reducing the formation of new blood vessels which may be relevant in macular degeneration and tumour restraint.

It is known to eradicate Helicobacter in vitro more efficiently than antibiotics even in low concentrations. In vivo its lipid solubility would make it able to penetrate the lipid based biofilm with which Helicobacter surrounds itself in the gastric mucosa. PA is a powerful anti-oxidant and can provide a source of ascorbate to replace the Vitamin C lost to the Helicobacter infestation which uses ascorbic acid as a nutrient thus denying it to the host (26)(27)(28). Ascorbate is essential for tissue repair and this lack of repair in subclinical chronic Vitamin C deficiency accounts for many of the disease effects listed above. It also provides a source of lipid useful in the repair process.

Concentrations of this Vitamin C ester are found up to 8 times that of ‘ordinary’ Vitamin C in the brain, very relevant in neuropathies. The suggested daily intake of this powder is 5 x 200 mg (44)(45)(46). It should be investigated as a means of gentle eradication of Helicobacter pylori in vivo because of its lack of side effects and proven safety as a widely used additive to a large range of foods.

Conclusion

Eradication of Helicobacter pylori has profound lifelong health benefits and is cost effective compared to the long term costs of resultant ill-health if it is allowed to persist. It should be a matter of routine in medical practice to test for it and initiate eradication.

References regarding Helicobacter pylori eradication and food additives

1	The Translation of Helicobacter pylori Basic Research to Patient Care Peter B. Ernst, David A Peura and Sheila E. Crowe Gastroenterology Volume 130, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 188 – 206
2	The bidirectional communication between neurons and mast cells within the gastrointestinal tract Luc Van Nassauw, Dirk Adriaensen and Jean-Pierre Timmermans Autonomic Neuroscience doi: 10.1016/j.autneu.2006.10.003
3	Critical role of an endogenous gastric peroxidase in controlling oxidative damage in H. pylori-mediated and non-mediated gastric ulcer Mrinalini Bhattacharjee, Samir Bhattacharjee, Arnab Gupta and Ranajit K. Banerjee Free Radical Biology and Medicine Volume 32, Issue 8, 15 April 2002, Pages 731 – 743
4	Helicobacter pylori infection, not gastroesophageal reflux, is the major cause of inflammation and intestinal metaplasia of gastric cardiac mucosa John R. Goldblum M.D., Joel E. Richter M.D., Michael Vaezi M.D., Gary W. Falk M.D., Thomas W. Rice M.D. and Richard M. Peek M.D. The American Journal of Gastroenterology Volume 97, Issue 2, February 2002, Pages 302 – 311
5	Serum and plasma concentration of oxidant and antioxidants in patients of Helicobacter pylori gastritis and its correlation with gastric cancer Shruti S. Khanzode, Suchet D. Khanzode and Ganesh N. Dakhale Cancer Letters Volume 195, Issue 1, 30 May 2003, Pages 27 – 31
6	Carcinogenic role of tumor necrosis factor-alpha inducing protein of Helicobacter pylori in human stomach Suganuma, Masami; Kuzuhara, Takashi; Yamaguchi, Kensai; Fujiki, Hirota Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Volume 39, Issue 1, January 31, 2006, Pages 1 – 8
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Andrew J C Carmichael is a retired Dental Surgeon with a particular interest in microbiology, nutrition and neuropathies – primarily Parkinson’s Disease

Relevant interests:

• Former Governor of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• Former Chair Preston Branch of the Parkinson’s Disease Society