Treating bacteria that cause ulcers may also stop tumors

Treating Helicobacter pylori - the bacterium notorious for causing ulcers in the stomach - probably helps prevent gastric cancer, new research suggests. Normally, the bug hides out in the walls of the stomach, where it starts to irritate nearby tissue. Over time, the stomach becomes chronically inflamed, a condition called gastritis. In the worst case scenario, long-standing gastritis can evolve to gastric cancer, which may require surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation for treatment. Dr. James Fox and colleagues from MIT decided to test whether they could prevent gastric cancer by eradicating H. pylori. They infected mice who were already prone to developing gastric cancer with H. pylori, and found that the infected mice rapidly developed gastric cancer. However, some mice were given antibiotics soon after they were infected - and these mice remained cancer free. "It's possible that eradicating H. pylori might help prevent gastric cancer in people who are in the early stages of stomach disease," says Fox. BOTTOM LINE: Treating the stomach bug Helicobacter pylori might prevent the development of gastric cancer. CAUTIONS: These experiments were done in mice. More work needs to be done to apply these studies to humans. WHAT'S NEXT: The stomach is populated by a lot of other bugs. Researchers plan to do more studies to find out if any of the other bacteria have any role in gastric cancer. WHERE TO FIND IT: Cancer Research, May SUSHRUT JANGI

The more mentally demanding your job the more benefits to the brain, a new study finds. Past research has suggested that the more complex the activity, mental and physical, the more the cognitive benefits to the brain. To see if this was true, researchers at the Duke University Medical Center decided to look at how job complexity and intelligence affected the brain's cognitive abilities in later life. The researchers, led by Guy G. Potter, looked at 1,036 World War II veterans born between 1917 and 1927. The men had all taken IQ tests before enlisting in the Army and Navy. Potter and his colleagues did cognitive tests on the participants every three to four years starting in 1990. They found that the more complex the participant's work was, the better his cognitive skills got as he aged. Researchers also found that this benefit was the largest with participants who had the lowest IQs when they were young. They also found that manual jobs done repetitively had the least benefits. "Complex jobs obviously add to cognitive benefits later in life," Potter said. BOTTOM LINE: "Intellectual activity is good for the brain and makes you more adaptive as you face the challenges of aging," said Potter. CAUTIONS: The study looked at only men. WHAT'S NEXT: The researchers want to look at the effect of stress on cognition because intellectually demanding jobs are often stressful. WHERE TO FIND IT: Neurology, May SENA DESAI GOPAL