The Helicobacter Foundation

What is the best way to culture H. pylori and can this be done in a school setting?

H. pylori can be cultured in a "candle jar" on blood agar or "chocolate agar". These are common media, which can be obtained from any microbiology laboratory. Remember that H. pylori likes to have lots of moisture and also likes to have reduced amounts of oxygen with extra carbon dioxide. Typically this can be obtained in a "candle jar". A candle jar is made by placing wet paper towels in the bottom of an airtight container. The petri-dishes are placed on top of the wet towels, and above all this a candle is placed and set alight before closing the lid. The candle uses about half of the oxygen in the jar and replaces it with carbon dioxide. Usually H. pylori will be detected after 3 days of culture in this setting.

It must be remembered that H. pylori is a pathogen, which means that it can potentially cause an infection in humans or animals. Because of this it is strictly controlled in the laboratory and the usual precautions have to been taken when handling this type of bacteria. It has also been named as a potential carcinogen as its connection with gastric ulceration has been shown to link to gastric cancers and as such should be strictly controlled in the non-clinical laboratory setting.

How will the sequencing of the H. pylori genome help in the treatment and prevention of the disease?

The sequencing of the H. pylori genome may lead to the development of new vaccines and might allow us to think up new ways of killing the organism by inhibiting some of its essential parts.

Are there any foundations or organisations willing to fund research on GI cancer and H. pylori?

The National Institutes of Health and many other government and private organisations will fund research into H. pylori and gastric cancer. This is referred to as "peer reviewed funding" which means that H. pylori research grants must compete with all other types of medical research grants.

I cannot eat certain foods otherwise my condition flares up.
There are other causes for gastritis symptoms besides H.pylori infection. It may be that your symptom is not caused by H. pylori. Eosinophilic gastritis is a conceivable type of gastritis for your symptom. It becomes exacerbated when you eat certain foods, but is frequently accompanied by an itchy eruption on the skin.

Has there been any link found between H. pylori and Sarcoidosis? As I have recently been told I have this disease as well as a H. pylori infection and have wondered about all possibilities.

As of yet there has been no strong evidence found that suggests a link between H. pylori and Sarcoidosis. However, the cause of sarcoidosis is not known, so anything is possible. You may be interested to know, that Helicobacter pylori produces toxins such as the Vacuolating cytotoxin A (VacA toxin), 88-kDa multifunctional protein, and other various toxins.

The role of Helicobacter pylori and its toxins in lung and digestive system diseases is currently being studied at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in the U.S. http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00366509 They hypothesize that the toxins may have a role in the pathogenesis of lung diseases such as Sarcoidosis, and Asthma. The study is still in progress and therefore the confirmation of a link between sarcoidosis and H.pylori is not known and will only be available after the completion of this study.

You can post details and updates of you own case on the Discussion Board - especially the "weird diseases" section.

Answers