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Health effects of probiotics – as functional foods or medicinal products - is an area of intense research. An increasing number of promising studies have appeared regarding effects of specific probiotic strains, especially on gastrointestinal and immune functions. The role in prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal infections is increasingly documented, as an alternative or complement to antibiotics, with the potential to decrease the use of antibiotics. Prevention and treatment of Helicobacter infections is one important potential area for probiotics. Recent experimental and clinical studies indicate the usefulness in other gastrointestinal disorders such as acute and chronic diarrhoea, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Systemic effects of modulation of the intestinal microflora by probiotics are indicated by recent studies showing effects in atopic diseases and upper respiratory tract infections. The aim of this interdisciplinary workshop is to bring clinicians and scientists from universities and industries together to discuss the state-of-the-art regarding health effects of probiotics. With this background, the scientific substantiation of health claims for functional foods and medicinal products based on probiotics through well-designed clinical intervention trials in children and adults, will be specifically addressed. We are happy to have experts from different parts of Europe, as well as from North America and Japan, participating in this meeting, providing opportunities for a global view on the status and future development in this area.  
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Workshop,
celebrating the 20th year anniversary of the discovery of Helicobacter
pylori in Perth, Australia. Barry Marshall and Robert Warren showed
that this gastric microbe, causing gastritis as the most common
infection worldwide, is strongly associated with peptic ulcer
disease and stomach cancer.