Eradicating H. pylori Infection Improves Glaucoma

Mastic Gum Kills H. pylori

Eradicating H. pylori Infection Improves Glaucoma

Mastic may be a viable alternative to drugs for more than just the GI tract

By Aaron W. Jensen, Ph.D.

Eradicating H. pylori Improves Outlook for Glaucoma

All of the glaucoma patients who tested positive for H. pylori at the outset of the study (36 of the 41) were given "triple drug therapy" to eradicate the infection. This is a standard treatment consisting of two antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor (a compound that inhibits acid production). It's an aggressive regimen that is usually successful but that can be associated with unpleasant side effects.

With this treatment, eradication was successful in 30 of the 36 H. pylori-infected glaucoma patients (83%); the other six patients remained infected. When these two groups were compared after one year, it became clear that eradicating the bacteria was beneficial for glaucoma: there was a small but statistically significant reduction in intraocular pressure in the H. pylori-free group, whereas the IOP had not changed significantly in the still-infected group. In addition, three visual-field parameters used to assess eye function had also improved slightly in the H. pylori-free patients, whereas they had become significantly worse in the still-infected patients.

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