Heliobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a spiral-shaped bacterium that makes its home in the gastric mucus layer, or the cell lining, of the human stomach. As the bacteria colonize the stomach, the lining is weakened and becomes vulnerable to irritation from natural stomach acids. The result is an ulcer. In fact, H. pylori causes about nine out of 10 duodenal ulcers, and more than eight out of 10 gastric ulcers. There is also now a clear link between this bacterium and higher incidence of gastric cancer. An estimated 2.5 million new H.pylori infections occur each year in the United States.

Peptic ulcer disease, estimated to affect 4.5 million people in the United States, is a chronic inflammation of the stomach and duodenum. Peptic ulcer is responsible for substantial human suffering and a large economic burden. Every year 4 million people report that they miss approximately 6 days from work because of their ulcers.

Peptic ulcers result from the breakdown of the lining of the stomach and duodenum caused by H. pylori, which burrows in between the cells and weakens the gastrointestinal tissues. One type of ulcer occurs in the stomach, the other in the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine. Duodenal ulcers are much more common than stomach ulcers, which have a greater risk of malignancy.

There are no specific symptoms of gastric and duodenal ulcers. However, upper abdominal pain and nausea are the most common symptoms of peptic ulcer disease. Ulcer pains usually occur an hour or two after meals, or in the early morning hours and abate after food or antacids have been eaten. Definitive diagnosis of peptic ulcer disease requires endoscopy, which also allows a doctor to obtain biopsy samples, if needed. The FDA’s 1996 approval of a safe, effective breath test makes noninvasive diagnosis of ulcers possible.

Many new therapeutic strategies are being studied to improve the eradication of H. pylori. The use of probiotics in the field of H. pylori infection has become an important adjunct treatment to lessen side effects of prescribed treatment, especially as antibiotics not only eradicate H. pylori, but also eliminate many beneficial bacterial strains from the body.

Results from laboratory studies and from clinical trials confirm that a quality probiotic supplement will dramatically reduce the rate of side effects. In a recent study, researchers found that persons who received a combination of antibiotic therapy with probiotics had “a significantly lower incidence of diarrhea and taste disturbance” than persons receiving only antibiotics. Additional studies confirm this finding. In experimental research, probiotics not only inhibit H. pylori but also help to prevent ulcers caused by use of painkiller medications.

Furthermore, probiotics protect against the downside of antibiotic regimens used to kill off offending bacteria such as H.pylori. While you’re killing the harmful bacteria, you want to keep reestablishing the friendly bacteria. This can be done both during and after the drug therapy.

In addition, there are some findings that probiotics could help to actually eradicate the H. pylori pathogen. In a recent study, Yasmin et al (2002) reported the ability of DDS-1 L.acidophilus in inhibiting H. pylori. In a 2002 report in the Journal of Applied Microbiology, researchers at the Department of Head & Neck/Thoracic Medical Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, evaluated a traditional yogurt used as folk medicine for its ability to kill Heliobacter pylori in vitro. Two yeasts and several strains of lactobacilli were isolated from the yogurt, and both the yeast and the lactobacilli independently showed antibacterial activity against H .pylori. The yeast and lactobacilli found in the yogurt form a hardy symbiotic culture, the researchers said. “The organisms secrete soluble factors capable of killing H. pylori, and these factors may include some organic byproducts of fermentation…These yogurt derived food preparations could become simple and inexpensive therapies to suppress H. pylori infections in endemic countries.” Other studies have not found such benefits. But we do know that probiotics assuredly help to alleviate symptoms of intensive therapy with antibiotic medications your doctor normally prescribes.

If you are using painkillers that invariably are linked to gastric bleeding and ulcers, some preliminary experimental work suggests this might be another good reason to choose a quality probiotic supplement.

How To Use Probiotics for Peptic Ulcers

Be sure to follow the recommended label instructions and work with your physician to determine the optimal dosage. Do not discontinue medications unless advised to do so by your physician. Especially after the cessation of the antibiotics, probiotic supplements are recommended.