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For about 100 years, scientists thought that peptic ulcers were caused by stress, spicy food, and alcohol. Later, researchers added stomach acid to the list of causes and began treating ulcers with antacids. Now it is known that peptic ulcers are predominantly caused by Helicobacter pylori, a spiral-shaped bacterium that normally exist in the stomach.
In most cases, kidneys can recover from almost complete loss of function, such as in acute kidney (renal) failure.
The longest a person has survived after a heart transplant is 24 years.
This year, an estimated 1.4 million Americans will have a new or recurrent heart attack.
Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system destroys its own healthy tissues. When this occurs, white blood cells cannot distinguish between pathogens and normal cells.