F as Fecal microbiota transplantation

Fecal microbiota transplantation, fecal transplantation or fecal bacteriotherapy… different names that mean one thing: the stool transfer from one individual to another. Often badly perceived, they can save lives.

We all know health scandals where food has been contaminated with fecal bacteria. However, some fecal bacteria can help treat people.

More concretely, fecal transplantation is the stool administration process of a healthy individual to the digestive tract of a person who suffer from a pathology related to an alteration of the intestinal microbiota (dysbiosis). The therapeutic goal is to recolonize the intestinal microbiota of the patient by introducing healthy bacteria and combat those considered as pathogens.

It is practiced in some centers in France, using a nasogastric tube or by colonoscopy.

Fecal microbiota transplantation is currently only indicated in cases of recurrence of infections with Clostridium difficile, a pathogenic bacterium. Nearly 90% of fecal transplants lead to the cure of these infections! Nevertheless, its effects could be more extensive. In fact, it could be of interest in the context of other pathologies related to dysbiosis such as intestinal functional disorders, inflammatory bowel disease (IBS) or obesity…