In the rapidly evolving field of Helicobacter infection newdata on pathogenetic and pathophysiological mechanism haveappeared. New methods which will be more sensitive andspecific in the diagnosis of the infection are beingdeveloped and in this proceedings the first attempt usingPCR technology is published. From the clinical point ofview, a challenging aspect that needs clarification, is theobservation which suggests an appearance of a correlationbetween the presence of the bacteria and abdominal pain andother symptoms in children whereas in old age no suchcorrelation is evident. The relationship of H. pylori andgastric cancer is studied with histopathological data andepidemiological approaches. On the treatment side schemesusing short courses and new antibiotic combinations arebeing investigated and preliminary data are reported.
