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When normal populations of healthy bacteria in the gut get out of whack, the result can be the stubborn and recurrent bacterial infection known as Clostridium difficile – C-dif. The main symptom is nearly constant and debilitating diarrhea.
One of the most successful therapies for C-dif is to repopulate the intestines with healthy bacteria that keep that nasty C-dif in check. There’s been only one way to do this: import a small sample of a healthy person’s feces. That’s right. A poop-transplant.
But the “ick” factor of fecal transplants is a hurdle for some, as well as a regulatory conundrum for the FDA. Which is why researchers at the University of Guelph in Canada came up with a synthetic alternative: a laboratory-made slurry of healthy bacteria they’re calling “rePOOPulate.” The research is published in the journal Microbiome. [Elaine O. Petrof et al., Stool substitute transplant therapy for the eradication of Clostridium difficile infection: "RePOOPulating" the gut]
It’s intended to replace human fecal matter in stool transplants, and researchers say it has several advantages. The bacteria are carefully controlled and can be tailored to the patient. It reduces the risk of transmitting disease. And, well, it’s just less gross.
—Gretchen Cuda Kroen
[The above text is a transcript of this podcast.]
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5 Comments
Add CommentThat is what science is all about, making the world less gross!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisCan't we just save our own in some kind of terrible bank in case of need later on? Because the alternative seems really atrocious, okay?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere's also been studies in England using fecal transplants for many autoimmune diseases like asthma, MS, and arthritis with great success. Listened to( on NPR, can't remember the program)a California man's quest to acquire a fecal implant. He ended up going to Africa and walking barefoot in the latrine area of several small villages. His severe asthma was alleviated and he's trying to find a way to make these implants available for others. The problem with using our own is that most Americans don't have the necessary bacteria because we' sanitized ourselves and environment and killed many naturally occurring flora
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe shit's gonna hit the fan.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt's very eye-opening for me as an non-native speaker!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBecause I've learned a couple of alternative saying of shit from this podcast, such as stool, poop, feces.
Very awesome, isn't it?