Researchers from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) working with European researchers found that the peptic ulcer bacterium Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) can reach blood circulation.
That allows the bacterium to travel throughout the body and it might cause not only atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis but other chronic inflammatory conditions of unknown origin, Newswise reported Friday.
An article describing the groups findings will appear in the October issue of the PLoS Pathogens Journal. The researchers included: Andre Dubois, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, surgery, and emerging infectious diseases, and chief, Laboratory of Gastrointestinal and Liver Studies at USU, Drs. Cristina Semino-Mora and Hui Liu, Dr. Thomas Boren, who is professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Umea University.
Dubois' latest observations build on a 1980s landmark study by the 2005 Nobel laureates Barry Marshall and Robin Warren of Australia. They were the first to show that H. pylori bacteria causes gastritis, peptic ulcers and stomach cancer, one of the most common types of cancer worldwide.
