Fecal Implants? Our Future Therapy?
Are "Fecal Transplants" the Wave of the Future?
There are many ways to improve the makeup of bacteria in your gut, and I'll outline those below, but one novel solution, the fecal transplant, is proving to be incredibly effective.
It may sound disgusting, but fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is actually very simple. It involves taking donor feces (the donor is typically a spouse or relative) and basically transferring it to the patient during a colonoscopy.
The benefit? The patient receives a transplanted population of healthy flora that can go to work correcting any number of gastrointestinal and other health problems.
Dr. Mark Mellow, medical director of the Digestive Health Center at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, presented research at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) annual meeting in Washington, D.C. that found fecal transplants led to rapid resolution of symptoms in 98 percent of patients with Clostridium difficile (who hadn't responded to multiple previous treatments) -- an infection that is often resistant to antibiotics, is often debilitating, and can be fatal.
Separate research found the transplants showed promise in the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, with symptoms improving in days to weeks. And preliminary research from the Netherlands even found that transplanting fecal matter from healthy thin people into obese people with metabolic syndrome led to an improvement in insulin sensitivity, which adds further credence to the immense role healthy gut bacteria can play in your health.
Source: Dr Mercola Dec 5 2011