Fecal transplants are more successful for treating Clostridium difficile infections than researchers previously thought, according to a study published in the journal Microbiome.
Researchers from the University of Minnesota collected fecal samples from four patients before and after they had fecal transplants. Three of the patients received freshly prepared microbiota from fecal matter, and one received microbiota that had been frozen. The microbiota came from the same donor.
Researchers then compared the fecal microbial communities in those four patients to that of 10 additional patients with recurring C. diff infections and to patients without C. diff.
They found that the patients had sustained changes in their microbiome for up to 21 weeks and were in the spectrum characterized as healthy.
The study could have implications on regulations of fecal transplants, according to the study's authors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says fecal microbiota constitutes a "drug" and that compositional certainty is important. However, the differences in fecal microbiota in the donor and recipients suggest that this regulation may not work for fecal transplants.