Fecal Microbiota Transplant and Its Evolving Medical Uses

It's been a while since I posted about my son "Jake".  For those who haven't read his story, here is the link   http://www.fecalmicrobiotatransplant.com/2013/07/crohns-disease-fmt.html  . He has been off medication (Imuran) for nine months now and looks and feels well.  Unfortunately his cousin who was his donor became unsuitable to donate in mid August due to picking up a parasite, so Jake has gone since then without any FMT . Today he had a colonoscopy and endoscopy and we were thrilled with the news.  There is no sign of Crohn's Disease anywhere - not in his intestines, not in his terminal ileum and not in his duodenum!!! In fact, Professor Borody said there was no scarring or ulceration or any indication that the disease had ever existed.  It was all perfect, healthy and inflammation-free.  When he was first diagnosed with Crohn's three years ago it was very widespread.  I am sure that anyone ...

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

      This is a video which aired on TV - great news for pediatric (child) patients with c-diff    

Following the spectacular results of a randomised study publicised in last week's New England Medical Journal by van Nood et al. (The Netherlands), The Gastroenterological Society of Australia spokesperson, Associate Professor Jane Andrews has declared fecal microbiota transplantation to be "The Ultimate Probiotic".   "Fecal transplantation for recurrent C.difficile has now got very good evidence behind it" she remarked in the Australian "Gastroenterology update".  The Australian society has changed their previous view in which they had considered fecal transplant to be unsafe and warned against it's use, and are now looking at setting up a state-based service at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia next year.  The article stated that fecal microbiota transplantation had become mainstream in many centres (overseas).  This is very exciting news for those suffering from the incredibly debilitating and potentially deadly symptoms of cl...

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...

Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis Using Fecal Bacteriotherapy   Borody TJ, Warren EF, Leis S, Surace R, Ashman O.   Source   Centre for Digestive Diseases, 144 Great North Rd, Five Dock NSW 2046, Australia.   Abstract   Background   Although the etiology of idiopathic ulcerative colitis (UC) remains poorly understood, the intestinal flora is suspected to play an important role. Specific, consistent abnormalities in flora composition peculiar to UC have not yet been described, however Clostridium difficile colitis has been cured by the infusion of human fecal flora into the colon. This approach may also be applicable to the treatment of UC on the basis of restoration of flora imbalances.   Goal     To observe the clinical, colonoscopic and histologic effects of human probiotic infusions (HPI) in 6 selected patients with UC.   Case Reports   Six patients (3 men and 3 women aged 25-53 years) with...

Professor Tom Borody, on ABC TV Australia, Catalyst, Thursday, 14 July 2011 talks about Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) also known as "human probiotic infusion" for treatment of clostridium difficlile (c-diff).  He is the pioneer and leading world expert on FMT. Please Click This Link To Leave A Comment!