Dr Tom Borody claims faecal transplants

[psyche101]

An Australian doctor claims he is curing incurable diseases using an all-natural waste product we usually flush away - human stool.

Professor Tom Borody has been championing the treatment, known as faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), for 25 years.

As modern science begins to appreciate the critical role gut bacteria plays in human health, his treatment of diseases including Crohn's and colitis, auto immune diseases and even neurological disease is provoking both criticism and excitement.

While some doctors regard faecal transplants as potentially dangerous, two of Australia's biggest teaching hospitals are embarking on a large national trial.

Professor Borody is at science's new frontier, manipulating the bacteria that live in the human gut.

"In terms of genetics there are 3.1 million genes. That's a hell of a crowd of individuals living in our colon," he said.

Bacterial cells far outnumber human cells in our bodies and bacteria experts including CSIRO's chief research scientist, Dr David Topping, believe the world is at the edge of an extraordinary medical revolution that will come through the understanding of the so-called human microbiome.

"I think we're on the edge of something extraordinary. The attention has switched entirely to the large bowel bacterial population which we now know is absolutely critical to human health," Dr Topping said.

Professor Borody is not waiting for controlled clinical trials to treat a range of diseases.

Patients travel to his Sydney clinic from as far as the UK. Many are seriously ill. They come for FMT, where donor human stool is injected into their intestines or colons.

"We know that bacteria manufacture active anti-microbial molecules so when we infuse these new bacteria they are like a factory of antibiotics that have gone in there and they weed out and kill the bug that we cannot identify," Professor Borody said.

FMT is now recognised in the US as a first line treatment to combat an epidemic of the antibiotic-resistant and often deadly gut bacteria, C.difficile.

But Professor Borody claims he has also cured dozens of colitis and Crohn's cases, gut diseases regarded as incurable.

"I think it's a hell of a breakthrough to say we can cure colitis," he said.

LINK

Who is game enough to go first here?

[Eldorado]

Are there stool donor vans cruising the streets of Sydney?

Edited March 19, 2014 by Eldorado

[taniwha]

Something else to add to the menu I guess.

Edited March 19, 2014 by taniwha

[psyche101]

Are there stool donor vans cruising the streets of Sydney?

Hey man, I just live here......

I know nothing of the stool underground.

But I do know that one has to watch out for Bondi Cigars. Not the band, who are wicked awesome, but THIS.

[psyche101]

Something else to add to the menu I guess.

I'll stick with eating our national symbols thanks. I think we are the only country that does that.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

Fecal transplants? Sounds like a load of **** to me....

[taniwha]

Hmmm, Come to think of it my dog is hardly ever sick and yes he does lick his own butt.

[Yamato]

Are you gonna flush that?

[Peter B]

From the article linked in the OP:

Controversially, Professor Borody believes the gut is the gateway for toxins to enter the body, triggering an array of seemingly unrelated diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's and autism. {My bold - Peter B}

He says he has been surprised many times when diseases far from the gut have eased or vanished following faecal microbiota transplantations.

"We've had a young person with rheumatoid arthritis and it went away. It was classic rheumatoid factor positive RA," he said.

Professor Borody also claims symptoms of Parkinson's eased in three patients treated for chronic constipation.

But scepticism is strong. Autism Australia says there is no evidence that antibiotics can treat autism, and Parkinson's groups do not recommend patients have faecal transplants.

The Australian Medical Association does not have a view on the treatment, and Medicare offers no rebate.

I was very interested when I read the story, as I have Crohn's Disease. At its worst the pain is so bad I've felt like I wanted to disembowel myself. Several years ago I had surgery to remove a damaged section of intestine, and odds are I'll have to have another bit removed in the next year or so. I know of some people who manage the symptoms with diet, while in my case it's managed with drugs.

I'm as squeamish as the next person, but then I've also got three kids, and changing nappies tends to help you get over issues to do with faecal matter.

On the other hand, if the idea of a p00 transplant puts you off, there was a treatment being touted a few years ago which involved drinking a solution containing the eggs of male intestinal worms. The worms only ate inflamed intestinal tissue, and because they were all male couldn't breed (though you'd really want to trust the person who was sexing the eggs). So the idea was that every so many months you'd have a drink of this stuff and the worms would keep the amount of inflamed tissue down. The fact that the treatment hasn't taken off suggests there was some other unresolved issue, presumably related to the underlying cause of the disease.

Having said all that, the bolded section of the text above has alarm bells ringing for me. To my knowledge the origins of autism are neurological, and can be detected in increasingly younger babies, which suggests in turn it's purely or largely genetic.

[Lilly]

I'm highly suspect regarding this 'transplant' notion.

[+and-then]

The explanation made sense. I suspect Peter B's account of the pain of Crohn's is all too common and that anything that relieves it will be worth looking in to. The biggest potential downside is that the transplant might form so "super stool" and the recipient become a famous butthole forever

[psyche101]

From the article linked in the OP:

I was very interested when I read the story, as I have Crohn's Disease. At its worst the pain is so bad I've felt like I wanted to disembowel myself. Several years ago I had surgery to remove a damaged section of intestine, and odds are I'll have to have another bit removed in the next year or so. I know of some people who manage the symptoms with diet, while in my case it's managed with drugs.

I'm as squeamish as the next person, but then I've also got three kids, and changing nappies tends to help you get over issues to do with faecal matter.

On the other hand, if the idea of a p00 transplant puts you off, there was a treatment being touted a few years ago which involved drinking a solution containing the eggs of male intestinal worms. The worms only ate inflamed intestinal tissue, and because they were all male couldn't breed (though you'd really want to trust the person who was sexing the eggs). So the idea was that every so many months you'd have a drink of this stuff and the worms would keep the amount of inflamed tissue down. The fact that the treatment hasn't taken off suggests there was some other unresolved issue, presumably related to the underlying cause of the disease.

Having said all that, the bolded section of the text above has alarm bells ringing for me. To my knowledge the origins of autism are neurological, and can be detected in increasingly younger babies, which suggests in turn it's purely or largely genetic.

Sorry to hear of your suffering Peter. I do hope this radical method can help you in some way, he is in Sydney, it might pay to get in contact?

I hear you about the nappies, puppies are a good way to overcome the squeamish reactions too I think it's simply the idea of injecting someones poo into your own gut, the thought of what lies in poo seems so detrimental to health, yet here we are. I found the claim amazing, and certainly would think it an area of medical science one is unlikely to so much as consider let alone research, but yet again, here we are, and the claims of results are nothing short of astounding.

Aussie ingenuity! Who would think poo might be medically beneficial!! I am being stereotypical, but I would have expected this breakthrough from Japan! Ever seen the kids book - Everybody poops? Strange..........

[psyche101]

The explanation made sense. I suspect Peter B's account of the pain of Crohn's is all too common and that anything that relieves it will be worth looking in to. The biggest potential downside is that the transplant might form so "super stool" and the recipient become a famous butthole forever

Perhaps Justin Bieber was a trial patient!!

[psyche101]

Are you gonna flush that?

Gotta give you that one Yam, that was hilarious

[JGirl]

i think i'd have to be in the situation to know what i would do, but eeewwww poo!