Using frozen fecal matter in a pill has proven to be an excellent remedy to treat intestinal infections caused by the bacteria ‘Clostridium difficile’, since, according to a first preliminary study of the General Hospital of Massachusetts in Boston (USA) it solves the problems of diarrhea in 90% of the cases .
The study, which has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association , states that fecal matter can restore the bacterial flora capable of fighting this bacterium , taking into account that diarrhea cannot always be cured with antibiotics and can be mortal to man.
The problem was how to get the stool into the patient’s intestine; especially since the stool must be “fresh” and from a relative. Thanks to this research, the experts devised a different method from those used previously (by catheter or colonoscopy): freezing the stool, encapsulating it and administering it orally like any other medicine .
In the preliminary human trial, the scientists selected fecal matter from four volunteers, which they administered to 20 patients with this infection. In total, the patients received 15 doses or capsules over the next two days. Finally, 70% of the patients (14 people) resolved the problem of diarrhea after the first administration of the capsules ; the remaining 6 people succeeded four days later. After 8 months, the patients were still without symptoms.
“If we use this method in new studies with more active controls, we could demonstrate the efficacy of this treatment and make it more accessible to more patients, ” explains Ilan Youngster, co-author of the study.
