'Fecal Transplants' Show Promise for Gastrointestinal Ills

By By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter | HealthDay – Tue, Nov 1, 2011 11:50 PM EDT

TUESDAY, Nov. 1 (HealthDay News) -- They sound disgusting, but doctors say "fecal transplants" -- once shunned by the medical establishment -- are proving useful against a range of gastrointestinal ailments, new research says.

Presenting at the American College of Gastroenterology annual meeting in Washington, D.C., researchers report that the therapy can ease severe irritable bowel syndrome and nasty bacterial infections.

Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) involves taking feces from a donor, typically a spouse or relative though it could be anyone, after a light colonoscopy prep.

That sample is then mixed "with some saline so that it's a consistency that can be aspirated into 60 cc syringes," explained Dr. Mark Mellow, one of the researchers presenting findings at the meeting.

The patient then undergoes a routine colonoscopy during which the mixture is inserted. The idea is that this new, transplanted population of healthy flora will correct the patient's underlying problem and it does seem to work.

Some of the most encouraging research comes in the form of three studies which demonstrated the procedure's effectiveness against recalcitrant infection with the bacterium Clostridium difficile. The bug can cause disabling and even life-threatening diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Full story on YAHOO

Seriously....am I the only one demented enough to think it's funny to go to the doctor to get sh*t stuck up your @ss?

WTF?! Taking shit out of one person's ass and putting in another person's ass all for some damn flora?

What happened to eating yogurt and taking acidolphilus supplements?

HotGritz said:

WTF?! Taking shit out of one person's ass and putting in another person's ass all for some damn flora?

What happened to eating yogurt and taking acidolphilus supplements?

You know?

For real.. How did they EVER come up with this anyway?? "hey frankie, lets shove some of my shit up your ass and see what happens!!"

KidaDynamite said:

Poop! The words feces and mixture should NEVER go together.

At least not when it comes to a mixture being inserted into YOU!

tinaz said:

For real.. How did they EVER come up with this anyway?? "hey frankie, lets shove some of my shit up your ass and see what happens!!"

...and who was the first test subject...and how much did they PAY HIM!!!

PurpleJedi said:

tinaz said:

For real.. How did they EVER come up with this anyway?? "hey frankie, lets shove some of my shit up your ass and see what happens!!"

...and who was the first test subject...and how much did they PAY HIM!!!

I know! Crazy ass people!!

Next thing you know they will be doing snot transplants to stave off congestion.

HotGritz said:

WTF?! Taking shit out of one person's ass and putting in another person's ass all for some damn flora?

What happened to eating yogurt and taking acidolphilus supplements?

Intestinal flora is a heck of a lot more complicated than the couple of strains you get from eating yogurt.

Sweetie has suffered with Crohn's disease for nearly 30 years. If there was any chance that something like this would work, he'd be at his gastroenterologist's office within the hour.

HotGritz said:

Next thing you know they will be doing snot transplants to stave off congestion.

Genesia said:

HotGritz said:

WTF?! Taking shit out of one person's ass and putting in another person's ass all for some damn flora?

What happened to eating yogurt and taking acidolphilus supplements?

Intestinal flora is a heck of a lot more complicated than the couple of strains you get from eating yogurt.

Sweetie has suffered with Crohn's disease for nearly 30 years. If there was any chance that something like this would work, he'd be at his gastroenterologist's office within the hour.

I thought we all GOT our intestinal flora via the foods we ate???

PurpleJedi said:

Genesia said:

Intestinal flora is a heck of a lot more complicated than the couple of strains you get from eating yogurt.

Sweetie has suffered with Crohn's disease for nearly 30 years. If there was any chance that something like this would work, he'd be at his gastroenterologist's office within the hour.

I thought we all GOT our intestinal flora via the foods we ate???

YEP. And likewise, the foods we eat can kill our intestinal flora. Antibiotics are no friend to the little guys either.

PurpleJedi said:

Genesia said:

Intestinal flora is a heck of a lot more complicated than the couple of strains you get from eating yogurt.

Sweetie has suffered with Crohn's disease for nearly 30 years. If there was any chance that something like this would work, he'd be at his gastroenterologist's office within the hour.

I thought we all GOT our intestinal flora via the foods we ate???

Uhhhhh...no. A lot of it is passed from person to person (babies get gut microbes from their mothers, for example) and via environmental routes other than food.

ewww

In all seriousness this could be interesting for a cure for colitis or crohn's disease too , maybe

[Edited 11/4/11 12:49pm]

test post... im having probs

tinaz said:

test post... im having probs

DAMMIT

http://www.thenakedscient...tion/2777/

Genesia said:

PurpleJedi said:

I thought we all GOT our intestinal flora via the foods we ate???

Uhhhhh...no. A lot of it is passed from person to person (babies get gut microbes from their mothers, for example) and via environmental routes other than food.

Interesting.

I never knew. (Thanks for the info HotGritz!)

So as gross as this sounds...I guess it could be of great help.

I know nothing of Crohn's...being as this is a new thing, perhaps it could help if his doctors become aware of it???

Shit is much more useful than we give it credit for - it's great source of fuel, and also a great source of phages - which we'll need when all our antibiotics don't work anymore.

The sooner we get our shit about shit together, the better.

AsylumUtopia said:

Shit is much more useful than we give it credit for - it's great source of fuel, and also a great source of phages - which we'll need when all our antibiotics don't work anymore.

The sooner we get our shit about shit together, the better.

AsylumUtopia said:

Shit is much more useful than we give it credit for - it's great source of fuel, and also a great source of phages - which we'll need when all our antibiotics don't work anymore.

The sooner we get our shit about shit together, the better.

That's a shitty thing to say.

crap! who would have guessed?

so the "baby cheese" is a good thing for babies.... I wonder if C-section birthed children are affected by the cheeselessness.

paintedlady said:

so the "baby cheese" is a good thing for babies.... I wonder if C-section birthed children are affected by the cheeselessness.

excellent question...

HotGritz said:

WTF?! Taking shit out of one person's ass and putting in another person's ass all for some damn flora?

What happened to eating yogurt and taking acidolphilus supplements?

Or better yet, whatever happen to eating a high-fiber cereal or eating beans & rice?!?

paintedlady said:

so the "baby cheese" is a good thing for babies.... I wonder if C-section birthed children are affected by the cheeselessness.

My niece was c-section and you coulda spread her on a cracker! it was THICK all over her... kinda gross..

More crazy and bizarre imagery to put in my head, thank you kind sir.

PurpleJedi said:

Seriously....am I the only one demented enough to think it's funny to go to the doctor to get sh*t stuck up your @ss?

My best friends Mom is in the death process ~ long and slow and very painful from simular issues

Apologies ...

I just see no humor in it