From ABC Science, 2 December 2013:
Faecal microbiota transplantation – also known as ‘faecal transplants’ – restores bacterial diversity and quickly relieves the symptoms of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea, according to a new study.
Researchers compared the gut bacteria of 14 individuals who had Clostriduium difficile infection as a consequence of antibiotic treatment, before and after faecal transplants, with the gut bacteria of their healthy faecal donors.
“In most cases, faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) resulted in the adoption of a faecal microbiota composition in post-FMT samples that was similar to that of healthy donors,” write the authors of a study appearing in the online journal PLOS ONE .
They showed that while patients feel better soon after receiving a transplant, the composition of their gut bacteria continues to change even one year after receiving the transplanted faecal matter.
The study also revealed significant changes among certain types of bacteria before and after faecal transplantation, such as a decrease in Lactobacillales populations after transplantation and low levels of the same group among healthy donors. Read more.
Bianca Nogrady 