by Cesare Peccarisi
An international study found an increase in risk from 11 to 24% ten years after the onset of symptoms caused by the bacterium responsible for gastric ulcers
confirmation of a suspicion that had been circulating for some time arrived just before Christmas: Canadian researchers from the University of Montreal and German researchers from the University of Berlin, led by Antonios Douros, indicated in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia that the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease plays a role A significant role is played by the presence of a symptomatic infection by Helicobacter pylori, an opportunistic bacterium that lives silently in the stomach of 30-50% of Western adults, but which can sometimes become active, causing gastritis and ulcers. The latter, if not treated through pharmacological eradication with pump inhibitors, antibiotics and antacids, can develop into gastric cancer.
Not just stomach
Also thanks to the contribution of Italian researchers from the Catholic University of Rome, such as Francesco Franceschi and Antonio Gasbarrini, it has emerged in recent years that, due to the chronic low-grade inflammation it causes, this bacterium is also implicated in haematological and cardiovascular diseases and in diabetes , in liver disease and in neurological pathologies such as multiple sclerosis and dementia, but there was no certainty that it was also the case in the most serious one, that is, Alzheimer’s disease.
Eradication
If confirmed, the German-Canadian news is good news considering that the eradication of Helicobacter pylori requires a few weeks of treatment. Thus, a pathogenetic pillar could be removed from the most serious of dementias, which in 2050 will affect over 150 million over 65s worldwide. The important thing is to treat symptomatic adults, i.e. those who present the classic symptoms of the infection: gastric burning, abdominal cramps, nausea, loss of appetite, abdominal swelling, vomiting, which should also be evaluated with a breath test, breath test, or gastroscopy.
The risk
Following for 11 years over four million adults of both sexes (4,262,092), initially free from dementia, German and Canadian researchers observed that over 40 thousand (40,445) later developed Alzheimer’s disease and the presence of an infection symptomatic Helicobacter infection led to an increase in the risk of Alzheimer’s by 11%, reaching a peak of 24% ten years after the onset of the first symptoms of Helicobacter infection.
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January 13, 2024 (modified January 13, 2024 | 07:29)
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