Intestinal dysbiosis –an imbalance in the microbiota or population of microorganisms in the intestine– can be exploited by opportunistic bacteria, such as Clostridioides difficileto trigger a infection which in the case of this pathogen can cause inflammation and a severe diarrhea which is difficult to treat and even causes the death of the affected person. There are different therapeutic options against this bacterial infection, but a review of studies has revealed that a stool transplant is more effective than antibiotics to control It’s hard.
The results of the research have been published in Cochrane Review and are based on analysis of six clinical trials involving 320 adults. The researchers found that 77% of the patients who underwent a transplant of microbiota intestinal they had no reinfection for eight weeks, compared to 40% of individuals in the antibiotic-only group.
When the population of beneficial bacteria found in our intestine decreases, which may be due, among other factors, to an inadequate diet and the consumption of drugs such as antibiotics, intestinal dysbiosis occurs, which is one of the main causes of infection by It’s hardwhich takes advantage of the situation to colonize the intestine and damage it, causing diarrhea and other symptoms such as colicky pain, vomiting, dehydration and fever.
What is the fecal transplant?
Older people and patients hospitalized for other health problems are often the most vulnerable to infection with It’s hardbut anyone can get this infection, which is usually treated with antibiotics, although these drugs can worsen dysbiosis and contribute to a vicious cycle that is difficult to eradicate.
77% of the patients who underwent an intestinal microbiota transplant did not suffer any reinfection by the bacteria for eight weeks
The goal of fecal transplantation is to transfer healthy microbiota from a donor to a patient in whose intestine it is necessary to restore the balance between the microorganisms that colonize this organ in order to eliminate pathogens that cause disease. To carry out this procedure, you can use capsules which are administered orally, or enema rectally, among other possibilities.
Watch for possible long-term side effects
The review of studies has shown that fecal transplantation was not only more effective in controlling infection than standard antibiotic therapy, but also had fewer side effects. However, in the opinion of Toni GabaldonICREA research professor and head of the Comparative Genomics group at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), “the study of possible adverse effects –especially in immunocompromised individuals– would require follow-up longer and broader”, as he declared to SMC Spain.
“This type of treatment is increasingly reaching the clinic and these results coincide with the conclusions of other studies. It can work in this type of alterations where there are no effective treatments, but there is a lot of inter-individual variability, both in terms of the donor of the fecal microbiome and the recipient”, adds the expert, who considers “that these approaches will improve when we have more detailed knowledge about the interactions between the microbiome and our immune system. Surely the technique will evolve towards more selective transplants, not of an entire fecal microbiota, but of defined microbial communities, different depending on the patient and the indication. To get there we still have an arduous path of basic and applied research”.
Source: www.webconsultas.com
