Warren, J. Robin (1937-2024), an Australian pathologist, won the 2005 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his discovery of the bacterium that causes peptic (digestive system) ulcers in human beings. He shared the prize with fellow Australian Barry J. Marshall, a physician. The discoveries by the two scientists revolutionized the way that physicians treat peptic ulcers.
Peptic ulcers develop in the stomach and the upper portion of the small intestine called the duodenum. During digestion and at certain other times, the stomachs of most people produce hydrochloric acid and an enzyme called pepsin. These powerful digestive juices can eat through the lining of the stomach and duodenum, causing an ulcer. In the past, most physicians believed that peptic ulcers were caused by stress and other factors that caused inappropriate secretion of digestive juices.
In 1982, Warren discovered a small, curved bacterium in samples of stomach tissue from patients with peptic ulcers. He observed that this new type of bacterium, later named Helicobacter pylori, was associated with inflammation that occurs as peptic ulcers develop. Warren and Marshall found that Helicobacter bacteria were present in most patients with peptic ulcers. They later demonstrated that the bacteria caused the inflammation that leads to ulcers. The scientists succeeded in growing Helicobacter in the laboratory, allowing them to study it and develop treatments. In 1983, Warren and Marshall began to successfully treat ulcer patients. Today, physicians routinely treat, and can usually cure, peptic ulcers with antibiotics that kill Helicobacter.
John Robin Warren was born on June 11, 1937, in Adelaide, Australia. He studied medicine at the University of Adelaide, graduating in 1961. He trained in pathology at the Royal Melbourne Hospital from 1964 to 1967. In 1968, he began work as a pathologist at the Royal Perth Hospital in Western Australia. He retired in 1999. Warren died on July 23, 2024.
See also Ulcer.
