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VIDEO: Aspects of stool processing for FMT may reduce efficacy
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ATLANTA — In this video from ASM Microbe, Lito E. Papanicolas, MBBS, infectious disease physician and PhD candidate at Flinders University and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute in Adelaide, Australia, explains that certain aspects of stool processing for fecal microbiota transplantation, or FMT, are likely having a negative impact on beneficial bacteria critical to these transplants.
“FMT is well known to have good clinical efficacy for C. difficile,” Papanicolas said. “It’s also gaining a lot of interest in treatment for inflammatory conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. In these cases, FMT may be able to deliver beneficial bacteria to the gut that have anti-inflammatory properties. For this to be effective, the bacteria need to be viable at the time of transplantation.”
Papanicolas and colleagues found that even when stool samples were processed under optimum conditions, an average of more than 50% of the total bacterial content was nonviable. Papanicolas said their findings may have significant implications for the clinical efficacy of FMT, particularly for inflammatory disorders.
Reference:
Papanicolas LE, et al. Abstract HMB LB14. Presented at: ASM Microbe; June 7-11, 2018; Atlanta.
Disclosure: Papanicolas reports no relevant financial disclosures.