Fecal Transplant Procedure
Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), also known as stool transplantation, is a novel approach to treating digestive disorders and infections. While many people still remain in the dark about what this procedure is and the many benefits it produces, FMT is becoming a potentially viable treatment option for overall gut health and wellness. Also called bacteriotherapy, it is an innovative investigatory treatment that is giving hope to patients across the globe: those who are suffering from digestive disorders and symptoms that have a heavy negative impact on their lives.
Offering Up a Cure For C. diff
Currently, the FDA acknowledges fecal microbiota transplant as a safe and effective treatment for patients with recurrent Clostridioides difficile (also called C. difficile or C. diff) infections. In fact, in the last several years it’s become the standard of care for treatment of the infection. C. diff is a bacteria that causes a gastrointestinal infection characterized by inflammation of the colon. These infections can lead to colitis, a chronic digestive disease with symptoms including diarrhea, dehydration, abdominal bloating, pain, and discomfort, and sometimes fever.
People at high risk for developing these infections are those that receive antibiotic therapy. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Your intestines contain about 100 trillion bacterial cells and between 500 to 2,000 different kinds of bacteria, many of which help protect your body from infection. When you take antibiotics to treat an infection, these drugs tend to destroy some of the helpful bacteria in your body in addition to the bacteria causing the infection.”
Without the good gut bacteria to combat it, C. diff can overgrow and wreak havoc on your colon. This is where FMT becomes a highly effective treatment option.
What Is FMT
Simply, fecal microbiota transplants are procedures in which stool from a healthy donor is mixed with water or a saline solution, strained and then administered to a patient through a colonoscopy, endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, or retention enema. More recently, a pill form has become a favorable modality for patients wishing to avoid the fairly invasive procedures aforementioned. According to an article in the MDPI, research has shown fairly equal evidence of efficacy between the colonoscopy and pill ingestion options. In addition to that, the capsule is more cost effective. According to a 2017 study in the Journal of American Medical Association, colonoscopy administration costs approximately $874 per patient and the cost of administering by capsule was $308. Thus, more and more patients are opting for the capsule, allowing them greater convenience, flexibility, and autonomy in their healthcare choices.
More on the Horizon
Many microbiology experts and researchers agree that using stool transplant procedures in treating patients with recurrent Clostridioides difficile is just the tip of the iceberg in what fecal microbiota transplantation can do in healthcare. While the FDA acknowledges the efficacy of FMT in treating and curing C.diff, there has been extensive clinical research and experimentation done in controlled settings that shows a bright future for the application of stool transplantation to treat other issues. A 2016 article in Clinical Endoscopy tells us that preliminary studies show that it has great promise in eliminating symptoms in a vast array of medical conditions such as:
Crohn's disease - chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, especially the colon and ileum, associated with ulcers and fistulae.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) - an intestinal disorder causing pain in the belly, gas, diarrhea, and constipation
Obesity - a disorder involving excessive body fat that increases the risk of health problems
Parkinson’s disease - a disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement, often including tremors
Fibromyalgia - a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in localized areas
Chronic fatigue syndrome - a medical condition of unknown cause, with fever, aching, and prolonged tiredness and depression, typically occurring after a viral infection
Myoclonus dystonia - a movement disorder characterized by sudden, brief, involuntary muscle jerking
Multiple sclerosis - a chronic, typically progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, whose symptoms may include numbness, impairment of speech and of muscular coordination, blurred vision, and severe fatigue
Insulin resistance - an impaired response of the body to insulin, resulting in elevated levels of glucose in the blood
Metabolic syndrome - a cluster of biochemical and physiological abnormalities associated with the development of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes
Childhood regressive autism - a condition in which a child appears to develop typically but suddenly begins to lose speech and social skills
Why Purety Family Medical Center
At Purety Family Medical, our fecal transplant procedure is as simple as oral capsule delivery and/or retention enemas. Most patients require a course of 5-10 days of treatment. Please reach out through phone or email in order to discuss details and eligibility.
We strive to provide the most innovative treatments, protocols and programs for holistic healing and longevity. Our core philosophy revolves around the body’s innate ability to heal itself through proper lifestyle and nature cure. There are times when the body needs extra help. On a daily and yearly basis we are always learning more locally and internationally to find you the best road to healing. We are a progressive group that uses unique and cutting edge therapies such as regenerative therapies, ozone, personalized IV drip therapies, chelation, injection therapies, bioidentical HRT, and of course, FMT fecal transplant.
As naturopathic experts, we know how pivotal gut health is in laying the groundwork for overall health and wellness. After all, studies show a strong correlation between an unbalanced microbiome and a multitude of digestive issues, plus a deterioration of mental health. At our office, we can get you on your way to better health and wellness. Again, our FMT procedure is as simple as utilizing the progressive-approach of oral capsules and/or the standard option of retention enemas over the course of 5-10 days of treatment. FMT has shown to have a well over 90% cure rate of refractory (antibiotic resistant) C diff infections. We are here to help you get on the path to better health, and oftentimes that starts with your gut flora.
Sources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/c-difficile/symptoms-causes/syc-20351691
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2664458
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4895930/#__ffn_sectitle