Ambrym,
Consumer education about H. pylori has just begun. I haven't seen the advertisement in People magazine, but it's the first I've heard about that targets the consumer. An explosion in awareness about H. pylori has been predicted on this thread many times. We'll probably be seeing many more adds before long. H. pylori and ulcers are not the end of the story, though. H. pylori's link to gastritis, stomach cancer and heart disease is growing.
More professional and consumer education will result in increasing sales of Quidel's H. pylori test.
Here's an AP article which appeared in the Washington Post. It mentions H. pylori as a possible culprit in heart disease:
washingtonpost.com
Heart Attack Causes Studied
By DANIEL Q. HANEY
AP Medical Editor
Wednesday, April 2, 1997 5:03 pm EST
BOSTON (AP) -- Inflammation that smolders for years inside the arteries, perhaps as a result of an infection, appears to be a powerful trigger of heart attacks and strokes and may even be as bad as too much cholesterol. . . . The theory is this: An infection attracts disease-fighting white blood cells, called monocytes, to the blood vessel walls. These, in turn, release a host of chemicals that can stimulate the growth of smooth muscle cells and contribute to the development of clogging deposits. . . .some doctors think a germ might be involved. One of the leading candidates is Chlamydia pneumoniae. . . . Other possible villains include the herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus and the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori. "This has similarities to the ulcer story," noted Dr. James Muller of the University of Kentucky.
Mike |
