John Lykoudis (; 1910 in Missolonghi – 1980) was a Greek physician and politician. He treated patients who had

peptic ulcer disease Peptic ulcer disease is when the inner part of the stomach's gastric mucosa (lining of the stomach), the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus, gets damaged. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while ...

with

antibiotics An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...

long before it was commonly recognized that

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

were a dominant cause for the disease. He became mayor of Missolonghi in 1951, serving until 1959.

Career

After treating himself for peptic ulcer disease with antibiotics in 1958 and finding the treatment effective, Lykoudis began treating patients with antibiotics. After experimenting with several combinations of antibiotics he eventually arrived at a combination which he termed ''Elgaco'' and which he patented in 1961. It has been estimated that he treated more than 30,000 patients. In his time he had great difficulties in persuading the Greek medical establishment about the effectiveness of the treatment. He was given a fine of 4000

drachma Drachma may refer to: * Ancient drachma, an ancient Greek currency * Modern drachma The drachma ( ) was the official currency of modern Greece from 1832 until the launch of the euro in 2001. First modern drachma The drachma was reintroduce ...

s by a disciplinary committee, and indicted in the Greek courts. He was unable to get an article published in the ''

Journal of the American Medical Association ''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of ...

'' and was not able to get the established pharmaceutical companies sufficiently interested in the treatment.

Literature

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lykoudis, John Greek general practitioners 1910 births 1980 deaths People from Missolonghi 20th-century Greek physicians

Career

See also

Literature

References