michael wrote:
>
> Nothing about CS here but interesting.
>
> There is now little doubt that Helicobacter pylori, found in the
> stomachs of a third of adults in the United States, causes inflammation
> of the stomach lining. In 20 percent of infected people it produces an
> ulcer. Nearly everyone with a duodenal ulcer is infected. H. pylori
> infections can be readily diagnosed with endoscopic biopsy tests, a
> blood test for antibodies, or a breath test. In 90 percent of cases the
> infections can be cured in less than a month with antibiotics.
> (Unfortunately, many doctors still haven't gotten the news. A Colorado
> survey found that 46 percent of patients seeking medical attention for
> ulcer symptoms are never tested for H. pylori by their physicians.)
>
> The above article was cut from "A New Germ Theory" which can be found
> here:
> http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99feb/germs.htm
>
> michael
While working my way through backlogged e-mail this weekend I reread the
above message. Had intended to reply earlier but in trying to read all
the subsequent messages on this list... I forgot to do so. (Too bad CS
doesn't improve one's memory <G>.)
A letter regarding the above referenced article was published in the May
issue. It seems someone knew the cause of stomach ulcers more than fifty
years ago!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Atlantic Monthly
May 1999
To a physician long interested in microbiology, "A New Germ Theory"
brought up the interesting question of scientific information and
timing. What causes information to be set aside and what determines when
its time has finally come?
In 1946 I was a first-year resident at the New York Hospital when the
senior attending physician, Constance Guion, called to tell me that she
was admitting a patient who was suffering with an acute, painful peptic
stomach ulcer.
Dr. Guion instructed me to start the patient on "that new antibiotic,
aureomycin," the forerunner of the modern tetracycline family of
antibiotics. "But Dr. Guion," I expostulated. "I thought you said she
had an ulcer. Why would you want to treat her with an antibiotic?"
Dr. Guion replied, "The latest research over at Mount Sinai shows that
'peptic' ulcers are actually caused by germs; now do as I say and give
her the aureomycin."
The patient went home three days later free of symptoms.
Paul Fremont-Smith
Physician in Chief, Emeritus
New England Baptist Hospital
Boston, Mass.
Judith Hooper replies:
(snip)
Paul Fremont-Smith's letter is fascinating. One wonders what Constance
Guion knew and how she knew it -- and who dropped the ball.
http://theatlantic.com/issues/99may/9905lett.htm
Michael
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