A clinical trial published in Gastroenterology reveals that microbiota transplantation is both safe and effective for treating recurrent clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infections, which pose severe health risks. The study involved over 190 patients who received either standard care or orally administered microbiota therapy. Those receiving the therapy experienced fewer recurrences of infection and increased microbiome diversity without adverse outcomes. Despite the company behind the microbiota pill being defunct, the study indicates the potential for future pill-based microbiome treatments for C. diff, with ongoing research planned by the authors.
"C. diff tends to be more resistant to therapies and it can be deadly," said Eugene Yen, MD, associate professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, who was a co-author of the study.
"Previously, transplanting stool into other people's colons via colonoscopy was the standard of care. There's a huge unmet need in terms of treating people who have recurrent C. diff infection."
"C. diff is one of the only clinical examples of how we're using microbiome-based therapies to treat disease. This is another piece of information that we're using as this type of therapy is evolving."
Patients who received microbiota therapy had fewer recurrences compared to the placebo group (74 percent versus 64 percent), according to the study.
#microbiota-transplantation #c-difficile #clinical-trials #gastroenterology #microbiome-therapeutics
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