Summary
Helicobacter pylori is a gram-negative rod bacterium. There are more than 300 different strains, which are distributed worldwide, are regionally and familially abundant, and their genetic information sometimes varies considerably. What they all have in common is a whole range of different adaptation mechanisms that enable it to survive in its main reservoir, the human stomach, even though it is acid-sensitive.
Symptoms
Not every person affected by a Helicobacter pylori infection will notice some of the unwanted colonization of their stomach. Only 10% of infected persons will be affected by the secondary disease of the colonization, gastritis (= gastritis: gaster = stomach) or even a stomach ulcer or stomach cancer. This damage that the germ leaves behind on the stomach lining is the result of a unique property of the bacteria in the stomach, the production of ammonia.
Helicobacter pylori produces ammonia and other substances as a survival strategy to survive in the hydrochloric acid of the stomach and exactly these substances are poison for the stomach lining and start to attack it. The gastric mucosa starts to inflame in response to this stimulus and produce more hydrochloric acid. This irritates and damages the stomach lining additionally and a vicious circle begins.
This then becomes apparent with the inflammation of the stomach lining described above and, if left untreated, often ends in the complete destruction of the upper mucous membrane of the stomach, leading to a stomach ulcer, also known as gastric ulcer. The cell degenerates due to the extreme irritation at some point, even a stomach tumor can develop. It is precisely this irritation of the stomach lining that causes the typical symptoms of gastritis or gastric ulcer caused by Helicobacter pylori.
The inflammation causes a pain when pressing the stomach with the hand (= pressure pain). This pressing pain changes with food intake and is usually increased by the food, depending on where the ulcer is located. Due to the increased production of gastric acid, heartburn is often found at the same time as gastritis.
In addition, nausea and vomiting often occur due to the irritation of the gastric mucosa. If the inflammation of the gastric mucosa persists over a longer period of time, diarrhoea, flatulence and a feeling of fullness may occur. In case of sudden deterioration, the development of an ulcer must always be considered. The two scientists who were able to prove that Helicobacter pylori is the cause of gastric mucosa inflammation even received a Nobel Prize for their discovery in 2005.
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