The microbiome and inflammatory bowel disease: is there a therapeutic role for fecal microbiota transplantation?

Am J Gastroenterol. 2012 Oct;107(10):1452-9. doi: 10.1038/ajg.2012.93.

Abstract

One hypothesis for the etiology of inflammatory bowel disease is that an altered or pathogenic microbiota causes inflammation in a genetically susceptible individual. Understanding the microbiota's role in the pathogenesis of the disease could lead to new IBD treatments aimed at shifting the bacteria in the gut back to eubiosis. Probiotics have some efficacy in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC), but our current repertoire is limited in potency. Fecal microbiota therapy (FMT) is an emerging treatment for several gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders. It has demonstrated efficacy in treating refractory Clostridium difficile infection, and there are case reports of FMT successfully treating UC. Further clinical studies are justified, and could be complemented by mouse models of fecal transplantation, in which variables can be controlled and manipulated.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Enema
  • Feces / microbiology*
  • Gastrointestinal Tract / microbiology*
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Humans
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / microbiology*
  • Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / therapy*
  • Living Donors
  • Metagenome*
  • Mice
  • Probiotics / therapeutic use*
  • Transplantation / methods
  • Treatment Outcome