|
|
Article: Ulcer freedom fighters. (antibiotics against the bacteria helicobacter pyroli)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- March 5, 1994
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
FOR years the only way to deal with a peptic ulcer was through rest and a blandthe stomach wall deaf to the body's calls for gastric acid; when less acid is secreted by these cells, the ulcers it causes clear up. It was a triumph of pharmaceutical design, and highly profitable to boot. Cimetidine and ranitidine (better known by their trade names, Tagamet and Zantac) quickly became worldwide best-sellers, and they have remained top of the charts ever since.
However, drugs expertly aimed at reducing gastric acid levels, clever though they are, do not seem a sufficient answer to the problem. While H2-blockers have healed peptic ulcers by the millions, 50-60% of the ...