Helicobacter Pylori A report by Graham

Introduction I’ve got a riddle for you. What causes stomach ulcers? Spicy foods? Wrong! Stress? Wrong! So what causes it?

Introduction (Continued) The answer? Helicobacter Pylori! (hE-lE-cO-ba-cter pI- lo-rI) H-Pylori is a bacteria that is transmitted orally (through the mouth).

What H-Pylori does H-pylori is a bacteria that is the cause of stomach ulcers. But, the bacteria itself doesn’t cause ulcers. The body itself does! How does the body harm itself? Funny you should ask… The stomach has digestive juices (pH-2) where viruses, most bacteria and yesterday’s steak dinner are washed around in a destructive bath.

What H-Pylori does (continued) To protect itself from it’s own Gastric juices, the stomach has a thick mucus lining all around the stomach. Once securely inside the stomach, H-Pylori quickly swims through the Gastric juices...

What H-pylori does (Continued) … and buries itself in the mucus. It then releases a cloud of Urease which converts urea (one of the gastric juices main elements) into ammonia and bicarbonate which are strong bases. This neutralizes the stomach acid. The stomach detects this and starts sending defenses.

What H-pylori does (Continued) The stomach sends all sorts of defenses among them are killer T cells, white cells, and other bacteria fighting agents. The defense is that the bacteria fighters cannot get through the mucus. Soon, the attacks get more and more severe. Polymorphs (white cells) die and spill their destructive juices all over the mucus.

What H-pylori does (continued) Soon the cells get through the mucus and kill the virus. But they have broken part of the stomachs protective lining. Plus by this time the bacteria has reproduced and will spread to other parts of the stomach. Since the mucus lining is broken, the digestive juices will cause harm to the stomach, thereby creating stomach ulcers.

Do you have H-pylori? Some people have immunities to H- pylori. Some people have it, but do not get stomach ulcers because the bacteria does not get into the stomach.

Do you have H-pylori? (continued) Here is a map showing who has H-Pylori North America 30%- 40%* Mexico 70%* South America 80%- 90%* Africa 70%-90%*

Do you have H-pylori? (continued) Europe 30%-70%* Asia 50%-80%* Australia 20%-70%* *This chart starts at the average 40-year- old. For the lower percentages, the percent raises 1% each year.

The seven components of living things The next slides will describe the seven components living things. 1. Cells 2. Heredity 3. Energy 4. Reproduction 5. Homeostasis 6.Adaptation and evolution 7. Responsiveness to environment

Adaptiveness and evolution The bacteria Helicobacter Pylori has adapted itself so that it can avoid the effects of antibodies and stomach acid. It has managed to become so strong that it can withstand the effects of stomach acid (pH- 2) for a limited time. To protect the bacteria for extended periods of time, H-pylori releases Urease to neutralize the gastric juices.

Responsiveness to environment To protect itself from the stomachs antibodies, the bacteria hides itself in the mucus layer lining the stomach. The antibodies cannot reach it there. So H-pylori is a force to be reckoned with.

Reproduction Here is how all bacteria reproduce: first, a bacteria starts to grow in size and length. Eventually, the size is big enough so that the bacteria can split into two daughter cells. If the temperature and other conditions are the bacteria optimum, this can take only twenty minutes. Then you have a bacteria problem.

Reproduction (continued) Temperatures are rarely optimum, so reproduction takes much longer. This asexual way of reproducing is called “Binary Fission” which translates “splitting into two”. Plus, there are four phases. 1. The bacteria starts growing, adapting to it’s new environment. 2. Bacteria growth sharply increases 3. Bacteria fight for dwindling resources 4. Toxic waste build up and bacteria die.

Heredity Heredity is what is passed on from parent to offspring via genes. For bacteria, Heredity is absolutely essential because, if a bacteria has survived the effects of medicine, it can adapt and reproduce. The offspring can now be partially or fully immune to the medicine i.e. a superbug.

Cells H-pylori is a gram- negative rod. Rod refers to the shape of the bacteria. Rod means long and Cylindrical. Gram negative means that the bacteria are stained with a gentian violet...

Cells (continued)...and then treated with a decolorizing agent. If the bacteria turn violet or blue, it’s gram- positive. If it stays or turns red, it’s gram negative.

Energy All living things need to consume energy. We get energy from food. How does H- pylori get it’s energy? To consume it’s energy, H-Pylori acts like a tapeworm and takes some of the food that the stomach gets.

Homeostasis Homeostasis is what the preferred temperatures and other living conditions are for Helicobacter Pylori. The most favored living temperatures are body temperatures (Aprx degrees Celsius). If the stomach initiates a fever, it doesn’t affect H-Pylori because since the bacteria is in the mucus which doesn’t heat easily.

Homeostasis (continued) A preferred stomach pH is 2, but it can survive at pH1. If you raise the pH, you won’t be able to digest your food, but the bacteria will die.

Cures The cure for Helicobacter Pylori is called a cocktail. It is a triple medicine. One paralyzes the bacteria, another keeps it from spreading and the third destroys the bacteria.

In closing I hope you’ve enjoyed my Helicobacter Pylori presentation! If you have any further questions or need more information, visit helico.com.