Fecal bacteriotherapy is a promising new treatment for patients suffering from pseudomembranous colitis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. It has been developed in recent years by dr. Thomas J. Borody and his team in Sydney, Australia, primarily as an alternative to the often low succes rate treatments for pseudomembranous colitis. This debilitating disease is caused by C. difficile infection, and is typicaly treated with antibiotics, but often requires prophylactic bowel removal due to complications caused by the chronic infection. Pseudomembranous colitis is a infection of the colon caused by the bacterium Clostridium difficile. ... Diagram of the Human Intestine Crohns disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract and it can involve any part of it, from the mouth to the anus. ... Pseudomembranous colitis is a infection of the colon caused by the bacterium Clostridium difficile. ... Binomial name Clostridium difficile Hall & OToole, 1935 Clostridium difficile ( ▶ (help· info)) (also referred to as C. diff or C-diff) is a species of bacteria of the genus Clostridium which are gram-positive, anaerobic spore-forming rods. ...

The theory behind fecal bacteriotherapy suggests that the cause of inflammatory bowel disease may, like in the case of pseudomembranous colitis, be a previous infection by a still unknown pathogen (possibly Mycobacterium paratuberculosis), which resolves itself naturally but somehow damages the healthy bacterial flora of the colon, causing a bacterial imbalance, which then proceeds to reinfect and damage the colon in an endless cycle which can be broken by "recolonizing" the colon with bacteria from a healthy bowel. This may be considered an extension of the probiotic research that has been gaining momentum in the last decade. In medicine, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the large intestine and, in some cases, the small intestine. ... Pseudomembranous colitis is a infection of the colon caused by the bacterium Clostridium difficile. ... Trinomial name Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis is a pathogenic bacteria in the genus Mycobacteria. ...

The procedure itself involves a 5 day treatment with fecal enemas, made of bacterial flora from feces of a healthy donor (who needs to be tested for a wide array of bacterial and parasitic agents). The enemas are prepared and administered in a hospital enviroment to ensure all necessary precautions. Regular checkups are required up to a year following the procedure.

While it's effects on ulcerative colitis and Chron's disease have not yet been adequately researched (although anecdotal evidence suggests great results in treating this diseases), the procedure itself has been used to succesfully cure C. difficile infections for a number of years, with a succes rate of nearly 97% according to some sources. A recent article by dr. Borody in which he details 6 cases of severe chronic ulcerative colitis treated using Fecal bacteriotherapy suggests that the procedure may be extremely succesful in these cases as well, as most patients remained in symptom free remision following the treatment, some even 13 years to date. Interestingly, in some cases, secondary complications seemingly unconnected with the bowel but characteristic for ulcerative colitis have been resolved as well, most significantly the case of a patient with a damaged liver (presumably caused by sclerosing cholangitis, a disease frequently associated with IBD), who recovered fully after the treatment and whose liver function subsequently normalized. Binomial name Clostridium difficile Hall & OToole, 1935 Clostridium difficile ( ▶ (help· info)) (also referred to as C. diff or C-diff) is a species of bacteria of the genus Clostridium which are gram-positive, anaerobic spore-forming rods. ... Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an inflammatory disease of the bile duct, which leads to cholestasis (blockage of bile transport to the gut). ... In medicine, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the large intestine and, in some cases, the small intestine. ...

Further research is needed, however, fecal bacteriotherapy may prove to be a step in the right direction in the understanding and treating chronic inflammatory bowel conditions.

See also

• Pseudomembranous colitis
• Ulcerative colitis
• Crohn's disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Helminthic therapy

Pseudomembranous colitis is a infection of the colon caused by the bacterium Clostridium difficile. ... Diagram of the Human Intestine Crohns disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the digestive tract and it can involve any part of it, from the mouth to the anus. ... In medicine, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the large intestine and, in some cases, the small intestine. ... Helminthic therapy is currently considered the most promising alternative treatment amongst those suffering from Crohns_disease and Ulcerative colitis. ...

External links

• Treatment of ulcerative colitis using fecal bacteriotherapy
• Bacteriotherapy using fecal flora: Toying with human motions
• Center for Digestive Diseases, Sydney, Australia