Eat $h*t!

Okay well not exactly.  Fecal transplantation is performed via colonoscopy, enema, or through a tube into the top of your small intestine. 

Wait a second!  Fecal what?!!!

Yes, you read that right, fecal (that is poop) transplantation, an increasingly widely used treatment for recurrent diarrhea.   Okay now that you’re either horrified or cautiously intrigued, it’s time to become more open minded to the power of poop.   Gross, right?  Well so is recurrent diarrhea. 

Diarrhea is a major public health issue that we’ve all had some experience with in one way or another (come on, it’s true).   A common cause of diarrhea is a bacterial infection with Clostridium difficile or C. diff. for short.   This infection is especially common in people who have taken antibiotics, and is becoming more frequent and severe.   In fact, it was estimated that in 2010, 500,000 people were diagnosed with a C. diff. infection, and 20,000 died as a result.   That’s a big problem, right?  One explanation for the increase in severity and number of infections is that the traditional treatment for C. diff., which includes antibiotics, is becoming less effective, resulting in recurrent infections in up to 50% of patients.

               

This is where fecal transplantation comes in.  In an article published earlier this year in the journal, Gastroenterology, researchers from various hospitals in Finland described the effectiveness of treatment of recurrent C. diff. infections with fecal transplantation.  Yup, they took poop from a relative, someone in close contact, or a healthy volunteer, blended it with water and transplanted it into patients with recurrent C. diff.  Well guess what?  It worked.  The diarrhea stopped and tests for C. diff. were negative in over 90% of the patients who had this procedure. 

 “What does it all mean Basil?”

We have good bacteria in our gut that help us to digest and absorb our food.  In people with C. diff. infections or other intestinal ailments, these bacteria are often compromised.   Diarrhea is not only inconvenient and uncomfortable, but when the good bacteria are not working properly, people can become dehydrated and important parts of our food such as vitamins and minerals may not be absorbed.  The idea behind fecal transplantation is that it restores the good bacteria that is damaged or missing.   What’s really cool about this treatment is that it’s easy to perform, inexpensive, and highly effective!  

Additionally, fecal transplantation may have implications for use in treatment of other intestinal ailments such as Crohn’s Disease.  Emory University’s Andrew Gewirtz, PhD, has even described uses of fecal transplantation in people with pre-diabetes (that is they don’t have full-blown diabetes but they’re headed in that direction).  He states, “They took persons who have metabolic syndrome, which means they’re in a state of pre-diabetes and they’re also obese, and they were able to partially correct some of their abnormalities by giving them a transplant of intestinal bacteria……I think it just highlights the increasingly appreciated importance of intestinal bacteria in many diseases associated with inflammation such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and inflammatory bowel disease.”

But I Really Don’t Want a Fecal Transplant

Not suffering from recurrent diarrhea, but still concerned about your digestive health?  As noted earlier, fecal transplants replenish the good bacteria in your small intestine.  Well, you may also be able to increase the good bacteria in your system by eating probiotic foods, such as certain yogurts.  In addition, a good way to improve your overall digestive health is to eat more fiber-rich foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.   

Ellen Smith is a first year PhD student in Nutrition and Health Sciences at Emory University.   She thinks Austin Powers was comedic genius.

Mattila, E., et al.  “Fecal Transplantation through Colonoscopy, is Effective Therapy for Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection.” Gastroenterology. 2012 Mar;142(3):490-6. Epub 2011 Dec 7.