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Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease that affects millions worldwide. Now, a groundbreaking clinical study has demonstrated the potential of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to improve symptoms in patients with PD. Motoric symptoms, such as balance problems, stiffness, and the characteristic tremor, are the best known and almost always the reason for the eventual diagnosis. However, non-motor symptoms, such as loss of smell, constipation, and REM sleep disturbances, often develop up to 20 years before diagnosis in a large number of people with the disease. In Parkinson's disease, a protein called alpha-synuclein misfolds and clumps together. Those clumps...

A team of infectious disease researchers has found via clinical trial that fecal transplants after kidney transplantation reduce the susceptibility of patients to infections by multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs). In their study, the group tested the impact of fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) on kidney transplant patients receiving care at Emory Transplant Center, in Atlanta. Prior research has shown that people who receive kidney transplantation are at risk of developing an infection from MDROs. This is because patients are given antibiotics to prevent general infections, killing all non-drug-resistant organisms. The absence of competing organisms allows MDROs to flourish, putting these patients at...

Research found a connection between gut microbiota and distal symmetric polyneuropathy. The team finds a potential causal role of the gut microbiota in distal symmetric polyneuropathy symptoms. Distal symmetric polyneuropathy (DSPN) is a common, progressive and debilitating neuropathy complication closely associated with diabetes. While more than half of all patients with diabetes will develop diagnosable DSPN, no effective treatments are available. The gut microbiota has been implicated in maintaining glucose homeostasis and affecting the nervous system through the gut-brain and neuroimmune-endocrine axes. Previous studies have demonstrated the impact of gut microbiota on neurodegenerative disorders in the central nervous system. Significant...

In a world-first clinical trial, a multi-center study has found fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) from healthy donors are safe and show promise in improving response to immunotherapy in patients with advanced melanoma. Immunotherapy drugs stimulate a person's immune system to attack and destroy cancer. While they can significantly improve survival outcomes in those with melanoma, they are only effective in 40 to 50 percent of patients. Preliminary research has suggested that the human microbiome—the diverse collection of microbes in our body—may play a role in whether or not a patient responds. "In this study, we aimed to improve melanoma patients'...

Afirst-of-its-kind product containing human fecal matter has just been approved by the FDA for the treatment of potentially life-threatening bacterial imbalances in the gut. The challenge: The trillions of microbes that live in your gastrointestinal tract, known collectively as your “gut microbiome,” play an important role in your health, helping your body digest food, produce vitamins, and ward off infections. Every year, 15,000 to 30,000 people die from C. difficile infections in the US. If the balance of these microbes is thrown off, you may experience health issues. Taking antibiotics, for example, can kill off the helpful bacteria that compete...

Mark Smith was a microbiology graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when, in 2011, a family friend became infected with the notorious superbug clostridium difficile. C. diff can cause severe diarrhea, disability, and malnutrition and is responsible for roughly 14,000 deaths in the United States each year. In 2012, after taking seven rounds of the antibiotic vancomycin and failing to improve, Smith’s friend received a DIY fecal transplant from his roommate—in their apartment, using an over-the-counter enema kit. The friend recovered within days, but “the whole thing was absurd, not at all how it should be done,” Smith...

A procedure that inserts fecal matter from a healthy person into the intestines of someone with diarrhea has been found to be a better treatment than antibiotics.

MomHouston has been a bit of a heartwarming story trend of late, what with the couple who died holding hands after 72 years of marriage. There are certain benefits to staying married so long, raising children, shared history, loving your best friend, etc… And now there’s this: After 52 years of marriage Pat Shoop, 75, received the ultimate gift from her husband Bob: a dose of his fecal matter, a transplant that cured her of a horrible illness. According to MSNBC, Pat suffered from a bacterial illness called C. diff infection. She was diagnosed in May of 2010. The disease...

Don't poo-poo technique: Fecal transplant can cure superbug, doctors say More than 90 per cent of C. difficile patients are cured by fecal transplants, studies suggest Last Updated: Tuesday, November 13, 200 7 | 12:17 PM ET CBC News A controversial new treatment, which involves the transplantation of human waste, can treat cases of C. difficile infection. But only a handful of physicians in Canada undertake the messy procedure. Left unchecked, C. difficile bacteria can cause chronic diarrhea, leaving sufferers virtually confined to their bathrooms. (CBC) Clostridium difficile is a superbug that commonly spreads in hospital settings and has been...