(Nicola Davis) — Researchers looking into the success of faecal transplants believe they have identified why the poo of certain donors produces better results than others – so called “super-donors”.
A team at the University of Auckland examined results from previous studies on faecal transplants – when faeces, and the microbes it contains, are taken from a healthy gut and used to “re-set” the gut of the recipient – to understand why poo from certain donors resulted in a better success rate in treating certain conditions.
The transfer of faeces from one individual into another has become a useful treatment for recurrent Clostridium difficile (C Diff) infections, a debilitating condition that causes diarrhoea and tummy pain. However, the procedure is also showing promise for a host of other conditions, including ulcerative colitis (an inflammatory bowel disease), that have been also been linked to the microbiome of the gut– the community of bacteria, viruses and fungi found there – being out of kilter. (…)