Poop Science: Stool Transplant Might be Effective in Treating Painful Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Fecal microbiota transplantation is a known treatment involving the transplantation of fecal matter from a healthy individual to another patient. At present, FMT is widely used to address recurring Clostridium difficile infection, but a new study suggests that stool transplant is also effective in treating patients suffering from ulcerative colitis (UC).

The study, presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2016, shows that FMT can be used as an effective substitute for patients who were resistant or intolerant to conventional UC treatment, which include steroids or anti-inflammatory.

"In recent years, researchers have gained a better understanding of the gut microbiota and the critical role it plays in health and disease, including conditions like ulcerative colitis," said Sudarshan Paramsothy, MD, a gastroenterologist from the University of New South Wales, Australia, in a press release.

"By using fecal microbiota transplantation, we aim to treat the underlying cause of ulcerative colitis instead of just its symptoms, as opposed to the majority of therapies currently available," Paramsothy added.

For the study, researchers enrolled 81 patients with active ulcerative colitis from three Australian study site. Among the 81 test subjects, 41 underwent in FMT therapy while the remaining 40 participants receive a non-active treatment or placebo.

Patients receiving FMT therapy first got their dose through colonoscopy and were subsequently given enemas to be self-administered five days a week for eight weeks.

The researchers then conducted a follow-up to the after eight weeks. They discovered that 27 percent of the patients who received FMT therapy reported no symptoms of UC and the doctors have observed that their digestive tract was healed or substantially improved, compared to only 8 percent in the placebo group who have experienced similar ordeal.

When the researchers excluded the clinical observation of the colon, they found that 44 percent of FMT patients reported improvement in their digestion while only 20 percent of the placebo patients reported similar effects.

According to Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, as many as 700,000 adults in the United States were affected by UC. Common symptoms of UC include loose bowel movement, persistent diarrhea, bloody stool and stomach cramps.