Nobel prize in Physiology and Medicine

[Monique]

Barry J. Marshall and J. Robin Warren

for their discovery of

"the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease"

Peptic ulcer – an infectious disease!

This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine goes to Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, who with tenacity and a prepared mind challenged prevailing dogmas. By using technologies generally available (fibre endoscopy, silver staining of histological sections and culture techniques for microaerophilic bacteria), they made an irrefutable case that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is causing disease. By culturing the bacteria they made them amenable to scientific study.

In 1982, when this bacterium was discovered by Marshall and Warren, stress and lifestyle were considered the major causes of peptic ulcer disease. It is now firmly established that Helicobacter pylori causes more than 90% of duodenal ulcers and up to 80% of gastric ulcers. The link between Helicobacter pylori infection and subsequent gastritis and peptic ulcer disease has been established through studies of human volunteers, antibiotic treatment studies and epidemiological studies.

http://nobelprize.org/medicine/laureates/2005/press.html

 

[cronxeh]

is it really deserving?

 

[iansmith]

By using technologies generally available (fibre endoscopy, silver staining of histological sections and culture techniques for microaerophilic bacteria), they made an irrefutable case that the bacterium Helicobacter pylori is causing disease. By culturing the bacteria they made them amenable to scientific study.

They forgot to mention that to make their case, Marshall injested some Helicobacter pylori.

 

[Monique]

Yeah, I was looking for that myself in the report

 

[Monique]

They forgot to mention that to make their case, Marshall injested some Helicobacter pylori.

I was looking for that myself in the report

is it really deserving?

As said they challenged prevailing dogmas, that must have played a major role in the nomination.

 

[Moonbear]

is it really deserving?

Considering how many people suffer from ulcers, and that this finding resulted in some effective ways of treating them other than telling people to "take it easy" or "go on vacation" or "take some antacids," yes, it seems deserving.