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Helicobacter pylori research: historical insights and future directions

Abstract

Helicobacter pylori leads to chronic gastritis, peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. With increasing issues of antibiotic resistance and changing epidemiology of this pathogen, new approaches are needed for effective management. In 1984, Dr Barry Marshall and Dr Robin Warren reported the association of Helicobacter pylori with peptic ulcers in The Lancet—a discovery that earned them the Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2005—but what progress have we made since then? Here, we have invited three international experts to give their insights into the advances in H. pylori research over the past 30 years and where research should be focused in the future.

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Acknowledgements

K. M. Fock has received grants from Health Sector Development Programme and National Medical Research Council. The author would also like to acknowledge assistance from Dr T. L. Ang in the preparation of this manuscript. D. Y. Graham is supported in part by the Office of Research and Development Medical Research Service Department of Veterans Affairs, Public Health Service grant DK56338 (which funds the Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center), DK067366 and CA116845. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Veterans Affairs or NIH.

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K. M. Fock declares no competing interests. D. Y. Graham is an unpaid consultant for Novartis in relation to vaccine development for treatment or prevention of H. pylori infection. D. Y. Graham is also a paid consultant for RedHill Biopharma regarding novel H. pylori therapies and for Otsuka Pharmaceuticals regarding diagnostic testing. He has received royalties from Baylor College of Medicine for patents covering materials related to 13C-urea breath test. P. Malfertheiner is paid to give lectures at symposia related to H. pylori infection and acid-related disorders from AstraZeneca, Falk Foundation and Takeda.

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Fock, K., Graham, D. & Malfertheiner, P. Helicobacter pylori research: historical insights and future directions. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 10, 495–500 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2013.96

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