title: How to treat Helicobacter pylori. First-line, second-line, and future therapies.
abstract: Numerous trials were performed in the 1990s to define the optimal therapy for Helicobacter pylori infections. The proposed proton-pump inhibitor (PPI)-based and ranitidine bismuth citrate (RBC)-based triple therapies led to satisfactory results. Their first drawback is cost, and, for this reason, many people worldwide cannot benefit from these regimens. Failures of first-line therapies essentially are because of antimicrobial resistance, which increases with the selection pressure resulting from the use of these drugs. Second-line treatments using antimicrobial agents for which H. pylori resistance is low or nonexistent are being tested to find alternatives to the quadruple therapy. There is a need for new drugs, which should be highly effective, nonselective of resistant strains, and without side effects, to improve current regimens. These drugs may be the results of postgenomic studies.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Université Victor Ségalen Bordeaux 2 and Hôpital Pellegrin, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mégraud
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Marshall
mesh_terms: D000658:Amoxicillin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001729:Bismuth / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005544:Forecasting; D005826:Genetics, Medical; D016481:Helicobacter Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D016480:Helicobacter pylori; D006801:Humans; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000897:Anti-Ulcer Agents; D054328:Proton Pump Inhibitors; D000658:Amoxicillin; D001729:Bismuth