So the irritable bowel syndrome (or irritable bowel) might be alleviated for no less than three years thanks to such a transplant, according to the latest study in the running, published on June 14 in the review Gastroenterology. Knowing that this is a problem that affects regarding 10% of the world’s population, it is easier to see why the benefits might outweigh the slight feeling of disgust.
Because the term says what it is: it involves transplanting feces —a tiny portion— of the intestine of a “healthy” person to that of a “sick” person. As well as, above all, the bacteria that come with these droppings. In the hope that these healthier bacteria will take over from bacteria unable to do their job in the patient.
Irritable bowel syndrome, in addition to causing fatigue and pain, can lead to constipation and diarrhea. Medicines can reduce the pain, but do not solve the problem, either this dysfunction of the “ecosystem” of microbes of the intestine.
Better, in the case of this study, carried out in Norway, a single donor, a 36-year-old man chosen for his “ideal number” of microbes in the intestine, was enough for 87 transplants. In other words, if the technique became widespread, we might not have the same problem of donor shortages that we find elsewhere.
These 87 people received a small sample of the donor’s stool mixed with water, in their small intestines (or small intestines). And 38 others received a placebo — which meant, in this case, a transplant of their own stool. Three years later, at least two-thirds of the first group had fewer symptoms, compared to a quarter of the placebo group. Patients with the most severe symptoms were those who responded best. And analysis of the “ecosystem” confirms that the “demographics” of bacteria have indeed changed, suggesting long-term colonization of their new environment.
