Fecal Microbiota Transplant and Its Evolving Medical Uses

Is this the reason that people who consume a diet high in fibre from fruit and vegetables and a lower in animal fat and protein (both animal fat and protein diets attract bacteriodes ) have a lower incidence of colon cancer?  It would seem that it is every bit as important to provide the food for our microbiota to thrive on as it is to feed ourselves.  We and our microbiota would appear to benefit mutually from the same types of food - it's not just about nutrition, it's about feeding our "helpful friends" as well! The Differences in Colonic Mucosal Microbiota Between Normal Individual and Colon Cancer Patients by Polymerase Chain Reaction-denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis Authors: Huipeng, Wang MD; Lifeng, Gong MD; Chuang, Ge MD; Jiaying, Zhao MD; Yuankun, Cai MD Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the differences in the intestinal composition between normal individuals and colon cancer patients. ...

With World MS Day being 29th May, it seems appropriate to post a link to a previous entry about Multiple Sclerosis and Fecal Transplant. The link is to three case studies from Centre of Digestive Diseases, Sydney Australia (Professor Borody).   Three of his patients who had multiple sclerosis were treated for constipation (one of the many complications of this terrible disease) and to their's and Professor Borody's surprise, their MS symptoms unexpectedly also disappeared, so much so that as at the time of writing the study all patients remained in remission, one of them for 15 years!  Professor Borody speculates that a gut pathogen may be responsible for causing the neurological disease and encourages a new direction in medical research of MS. http://www.fecalmicrobiotatransplant.com/2012/08/could-multiple-sclerosis-be-caused-by.html

TITLE: Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) AUTHORS/INSTITUTIONS : T.J. Borody, S.M. Leis, J.L. Campbell, M. Torres, A. Nowak, , Centre for Digestive Diseases, Five Dock, New South Wales, AUSTRALIA; ABSTRACT BODY: Purpose: Recent evidence implicates the GI microbiota in the progression of neurological diseases such as Parkinsons Disease 1, Multiple Sclerosis and Myasthenia Gravis 2. We report three patients with MS diagnoses who achieved durable symptom reversal with FMT for constipation. Methods: Case study observations on three MS cases   Results: Case 1: A 30 yr old male with constipation, vertigo and impaired concentration and a concomitant history of MS and trigeminal neuralgia. Neurological symptoms included severe leg weakness and he required a wheelchair and an indwelling urinary catheter. Previous failed treatments included Mexiletine, Tryptanol and 9-interferon. The patient underwent 5 FMT i...