For many years, doctors blamed painful stomach ulcers on stress or spicy foods. More recently, however, scientists have determined that many ulcers are actually caused by a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori. H. pylori affects more than half of the world's population, causing gastritis and ulcers, and increasing the risk for gastric cancer and mucosal-associated-lymphoid-type (MALT) lymphoma. Fortunately, the bacterium is treatable through antibiotics. This informative guide covers everything from the history of the organism's discovery by Nobel Prize–winning scientists Dr. Robbin Warren and Dr. Barry Marshall, to how H. pylori functions, to how it is diagnosed and treated.

Chapters include:

• Discovery of Helicobacter Pylori
• Digestion
• How Helicobacter Pylori Survives in the Stomach
• Epidemiology of Helicobacter Pylori Infection
• Helicobacter Pylori and Ulcers
• Helicobacter Pylori and the Immune System
• Helicobacter Pylori in Cancer and Autoimmune Diseases
• Diagnosis and Treatment of Helicobacter Pylori Infections