Helicobacter pylori. These widespread bacteria infect the lining of the stomach. Primarily acquired during childhood, the infection persists throughout life if untreated.
It causes inflammation of the stomach (gastritis) which usually goes unnoticed. But that’s not all. Because according to researchers at McGill University in Montreal, it can also increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
By collecting data from more than four million people over the age of 50 living in the United Kingdom between 1988 and 2019, they observed that H. pylori infection is associated with an 11% increased risk of developing dementia.
A course of treatment?
“The world’s population is aging, so the number of people with dementia is expected to triple over the next 40 years,” Dr. says Paul Brassard, lead author of the study and a professor at McGill University’s Faculty of Medicine. “Despite these alarming data, we still do not have an effective treatment against this disease. »
The cause of Helicobacter pylori infection is therefore very important as is the treatment to get rid of it. This includes taking several antibiotics and an acid-reducing medicine.
