Today, many of us know that a small bacterium with the complex name Helicobacter pylori can cause a pathology such as a stomach ulcer. The history of the discovery of this microorganism stretched for more than one century. Helicobacter pylori was studied for a long time, did not want to recognize and, finally, it was finally clarified its role in the occurrence of diseases of the digestive system. What is this bacterium and how can you get rid of it?
Dangerous microscopic organism
Today, scientists already know a lot about Helicobacter pylori. That this is a microscopic organism and that it does not have a cell nucleus, the researchers discovered at the very beginning of its study. The conclusion of scientists: the bacterium is the oldest form of life. No wonder it is widespread in the environment. It is worth saying that this parasite was found not only in the human body, but also in the vents of volcanoes.
Many strains of bacteria are simply necessary for us to exist. With their help, the development of certain beneficial substances (for example, vitamin K) occurs in the human body. Some types of bacteria protect the surface layers of the epithelium (urinary and airways, digestive tract, skin) from pathogenic microorganisms. However, Helicobacter pylori is not one of them. What is this bacterium? It is considered pathogenic and causes a malfunction in the body.
What confirms the pathogenicity of this bacterium? The fact is that all pathogens have a number of distinguishing features. They possess:
- genetic ability to parasitize;
- organotropic (adaptability to damage to tissues and organs of the human body);
- toxigenicity, that is, the ability to release toxic substances;
- specificity (cause an infectious disease);
- the ability to exist in the body for a long period of time, or to persistence.
Discovery story
Back in the late 19th century. many scientists could not answer with absolute confidence the question: "Helicobacter pylori - what is it?" But even in those days, many researchers assumed that such pathologies of the stomach, like ulcers, gastritis and cancer, are associated with infections. They found bacteria in the mucus of a diseased organ with a characteristic spiral shape. However, the microbes extracted from the stomach, falling into the external environment, quickly died, and it was not possible to study them.
Answer the question: "Helicobacter pylori - what is it?" Researchers were able only a century later. Only in 1983, scientists from Australia, Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, told the whole world that they found spiral-shaped bacteria in the mucus of the stomachs of people suffering from chronic gastritis and peptic ulcers.
This year is considered the year of the discovery of Helicobacter pylori, since publications made at the end of the 19th century were safely forgotten by this time. Most gastroenterologists considered stress and malnutrition, genetic predisposition, excessive consumption of too spicy foods, etc. to be the main reasons for the development of stomach pathologies.
Bacteria danger
The microorganism discovered by Australian scientists is unique. Until 1983, it was believed that no bacteria could exist in the stomach, because it contained aggressive hydrochloric acid. However, Helicobacter pylori refuted this assumption. This spiral-shaped bacterium is able to exist in the stomach and duodenum.
The danger of this microorganism doctor-scientist B. Marshall proved on himself. He deliberately infected himself with Helicobacter pylori. After that, he developed gastritis.
This whole story has a happy ending. The doctor has proved the involvement of bacteria in the development of digestive tract pathology. He got rid of gastritis by conducting a two-week course of antibiotic therapy, and received the Nobel Prize with R. Warren.
Later, other varieties of Helicobacter pylori were discovered. Some of them are the cause of the development of infectious diseases in humans.
Bacteria habitat
Helicobacter pylori is a microorganism that has been able to adapt to existence in the antrum of the stomach. A bacterium is found under the layers of a thick protective layer of mucus, which covers the inner surface of this organ. It is in this place that there is a neutral environment in which oxygen is practically absent.
Helicobacter pylori has no competing bacteria. It quietly multiplies and supports its populations, feeding on the contents of the stomach. Its only problem is the opposition of the body's defenses.
Thanks to its flagella, the bacterium cleverly and quickly moves in the gastric juice with corkscrew movements. Moreover, it constantly populates new areas. In order to survive in an aggressive environment, Helicobacter pylori releases urease. This is an adaptive enzyme that neutralizes hydrochloric acid in the area around the microorganism. Thus, the bacterium easily overcomes a hazardous environment for all living things and whole and unharmed reaches the layers of the mucous membrane.
The insidiousness of the pathogenic microorganism lies in its ability to secrete special substances that allow you to get away from the response of the host's immune forces.
The bacterium parasitizes on the gastric mucosa and destroys it. This leads to the appearance of small sores. Further, the process is aggravated. The harmful organism begins to destroy the walls of the stomach, which causes ulcers.
Bacteria prevalence
Helicobacter pylori lives in the digestive tract of almost half of the inhabitants of our planet. However, in most cases, this pathogenic bacterium does not detect itself. It is believed that Helicobacter pylori appears in children at an early age. It enters the body of the baby from loved ones or from family members. The transmission path is usually contact-household, through kisses, common dishes, etc. This is confirmed by the fact that, as a rule, all family members are immediately infected.
An infected person can live with such a bacterium all his life and not even know about the presence of a pathogenic microorganism in his stomach. That is why no special measures are being taken to identify these malicious carriers. Well, for those who suffer from symptoms of digestive tract diseases, a course of antibiotics can help.
The first signs of the presence of bacteria
Helicobacter pylori causes gastritis or stomach ulcers in the presence of several factors. These can be gaps in the diet, decreased immunity, stress, etc.
The manifestation of the disease begins with a malfunction of the digestive tract. If a person has heartburn, discomfort after eating, bad breath, loss of appetite and sudden weight loss, as well as problems with stools, this is the first signal that the body began to malfunction.
Sometimes Helicobacter pylori makes itself felt by the appearance of rashes on the skin of the face. Some patients turn to a cosmetologist, not suspecting the presence of microscopic organisms in the stomach.
If you find the symptoms described above, you should immediately consult a doctor who should identify the disease. It is from the timely and correct diagnosis that the effectiveness of the subsequent treatment will depend.
Research methods
What kind of patient will need to be tested so that the doctor can make him the correct diagnosis?
To date, several methods are used in medical practice to determine the presence of a harmful bacterium in the human body. At the first signs of the disease, the following studies are prescribed:
1. Helicobacter pylori blood test. Studies are being conducted on the presence of antibodies in it, which are nothing more than a signal for recognizing bacteria by the body's immune forces.
2. Analysis for Helicobacter pylori feces. Ongoing studies reveal the presence of the genetic material of a dangerous microorganism.
3. Breath test. With its help, specialists are able to determine the urease activity of Helicobacter pylori, located in the stomach.
4. Cytological studies. This method involves the detection of a harmful bacterium using a microscope when examining samples of the gastric mucosa.
In order for the diagnosis to be as accurate as possible, doctors prescribe at least two different research methods to the patient.
Blood analysis
This study is called ELISA. This term means nothing more than an enzyme immunoassay. This study is aimed at identifying Helicobacter pylori bacteria.
ELISA is a blood plasma analysis. During the study of the resulting biological material, various chemical reactions are performed. With their help, titers or antibody concentrations in relation to the causative agent of Helicobacteriosis are determined. What is the essence of this technique? It detects the presence of antibodies in the blood plasma, which forms the human immunity when a foreign protein enters the body (it is a dangerous bacterium).
In what cases can we talk about the presence of Helicobacter pylori in the stomach? The presence of a dangerous microorganism is indicated by the results of tests confirming the presence of antibodies in the blood. But there is a certain nuance. It is worth remembering that even if the decoding of the blood test for Helicobacter pylori gave a positive result, it does not give a 100% guarantee of the presence of infection in the body. After all, antibodies in the blood persist for some, sometimes a long period of time in the human body, completely getting rid of the dangerous bacteria.
Sometimes it happens that a person donates blood to Helicobacter pylori. Decryption of the analysis shows a negative result (below 12.5 units / ml). It would seem that everything is fine, but ... It should be borne in mind that a pronounced response of the immune system appears only some time after the bacteria enter the body. That is why the results of some analyzes are false negative. A pathogenic microbe is already in the body, but the immune system has not yet given its response in the form of antibodies.
In order to overcome the disadvantages of this study, it becomes necessary to perform fractional analysis of immunoglobulins IgA, IgG and IgM. These substances are nothing more than different types of antibodies that are capable of producing immune cells.
What are these antibodies? So, IgG is the most common class of immunoglobulin. It is a substance having a protein nature. IgG begins to be produced by the body 3-4 weeks after the moment the infection enters the body. Moreover, in the presence of helicobacteriosis, the concentration of this immunoglobulin correlates with respect to the activity of the bacterium. A month after eliminating the IgG infection in the blood is not detected.
A relatively small fraction of free proteins is type M immunoglobulins. They are the first to be found in the blood of a patient infected with Helicobacter pylori.
As for IgA, this immunoglobulin is secretory. Antibodies of this type in the presence of infection can be detected not only in the blood, but also in the saliva, as well as in the patient’s gastric juice. Their presence indicates a high activity of the pathological process.
If a Helicobacter pylori test is performed, the norm of antibodies of all types is detected in the case of quantitative rather than qualitative determination of IgA, IgM and IgG. With such studies, experts set the final result depending on the laboratory in which the tests are taken. In this case, reference values of the norm are used.
On the form on which you can see the result (Helicobacter pylori is in the body or not), the numbers are indicated. Their values regulate the norm, as well as the presence of pathology for the reference values of antibodies present in the body.
There are laboratories in which indicators are put down indicating the doubtfulness of the result obtained on Helicobacter pylori (12.5-20 units / ml). If there are such values, doctors prescribe a second test. But it can be carried out only after two to three weeks.
What does it mean if, after blood is donated to Helicobacter pylori, the IgG norm is indicated in the decoding of the results (below 0.9 U / L)? In such cases, the specialist can conclude that there is no Helicobacter pylori in the body.
If a blood test is given for Helicobacter pylori, the IgM immunoglobulin rate will indicate to the doctor the early period that the patient experiences after infection. If at the same time a negative result is obtained of the presence of other types of antibodies in the body, then it will clearly indicate the absence of a pathogenic microbe in the body.
What are the other results that were obtained when the blood test was decoded for Helicobacter pylori? The norm of IgA immunoglobulin tells that the patient is experiencing an early period after infection. However, such an indicator may also indicate the absence of Helicobacter pylori. This is confirmed by the normal values of other types of antibodies.
Preparation for blood test and its delivery
In order to most reliably determine the presence or absence of infection in the body, doctors give certain recommendations to their patients. If a person is assigned an analysis for Helicobacter pylori, how to take it to get the most reliable results? Experts recommend excluding fatty foods from the menu on the eve of a laboratory visit. It should be borne in mind that only in the morning an analysis is performed on Helicobacter pylori. How to take it? Only on an empty stomach. Blood from a patient is taken from a vein. It is placed in a test tube, in which there is a special gel, folding the collected biological material. In this case, plasma is separated, which is examined for the presence of antibodies.
Breath test
Urease analysis allows you to determine the presence of Helicobacter pylori in the body due to the ability of the bacteria to produce a special enzyme that protects it from the aggressive environment of the stomach. This enzyme (urease) splits urea in the digestive tract. As a result of this reaction, the formation of ammonia and carbon dioxide. The last of these two elements is released during the patient's breathing.
This analysis has three modifications. They include:
- tests with urea labeled with radioactive isotopes;
- 13C study using urea with non-radioactive isotopes;
- Helic-test, in which carbamide is used instead of isotopes.
What can be the decoding of the breath test for Helicobacter pylori? The norm indicating the absence of infection is the case when the marked isotopes are completely absent in the air exhaled by the patient.
Before taking the urease test, the patient should limit the intake of water and food. Morning trip to the laboratory is performed on an empty stomach. One hour before the test, drinking is also not recommended. Within 1.5 days before the study, the patient should not eat cabbage and apples, brown bread and legumes, as well as other products that contribute to increased gas formation.
Getting rid of a dangerous microorganism
How to treat Helicobacter pylori bacteria? Since a harmful bacterium can exist in the human body without any manifestation of symptoms, therapy is carried out only in cases where there is already gastritis, an ulcer or other pathological processes.
If the Helicobacter pylori bacterium is found in the stomach, the doctor will decide how to treat it. Only a specialist can choose one of several treatment regimens for his patient. Moreover, he will do this, based on the individual characteristics of the patient, given his reaction to certain drugs.
So, a gastroenterologist can be prescribed antibacterial agents. With their help, the Helicobacter pylori bacterium in the stomach can be eliminated. How to treat a patient with antibiotics? The doctor includes such pharmacological agents as Azithromycin, Flemoxin, Clarithromycin, Levofloxacin in the regimen. The antibacterial drugs De-nol, Metronidazole, etc. can also be prescribed.
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