Persons infected with H. pylori develop serum antibodies to the organism that can be detected in the blood. Serological testing for H. pylori is only one of a number of diagnostic techniques that can be used.
Culturing the organism is probably the ideal, but the method is slow and expensive. Breath testing is non-invasive, but has a higher cost. Saliva testing, though becoming more popular, is still not widely available. Blood testing for circulating antibodies to H. pylori is cheap, quick, readily available and non invasive (other than the blood collection). It is now possible to have a test in a doctor's office performed on just one drop of blood.
Drug therapies used to fight the ulcer-causing bacteria Helicobacter Pylori may help treat Crohn's disease. Researchers recently reported that "after treatment [with antibiotics against H. Pylori], clinical remission [of Crohn's disease] was achieved in all patients", regardless of the type of therapy received. At the same time, H. Pylori infection was eradicated in 28 of the 30 infected patients.
"What this shows is that by eradicating H. Pylori infection... we achieved a remission of Crohn's disease," Dr. Mantzaris explained. The authors stress that their findings do not mean that H. Pylori causes Crohn's disease. But it does raise the issue of "whether regimens aimed at eradicating H. Pylori in infected patients with Crohn's disease may also achieve remission of Crohn's disease."
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