Fecal therapy of alcoholism
Alcoholism was cured for the first time by transplanting bacteria from feces
Julia Rudy, Vesti
A first-of-its-kind clinical trial conducted by researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University has shown that transplanting bacteria isolated from another person's feces can help overcome cravings for alcohol. Despite the fact that the results are preliminary and certainly require further verification, the study indicates a convincing relationship between the gut microbiome and the addictions that a person suffers from.
The idea that so-called fecal microbiota transplantation (TFM) can improve human health is far from new. Previously Vesti.Ru wrote that with its help, doctors want to overcome the worldwide epidemic of obesity and some bacterial infections, save people from ulcerative colitis and even autism.
Modern medicine has been experimenting with this method of treatment for more than half a century, and Chinese doctors have been using this method for thousands of years.
However, over the past decade, interest in fecal bacterial transplantation has grown dramatically. Probably, the reason for this boom is the significant advance of science in the study of the composition of the human microbiota and its individual representatives.
A new study was devoted to the study of the relationship between alcohol addiction and the gut microbiome. In particular, the researchers were interested in whether TFM can positively affect problems with alcohol consumption in people suffering from alcoholism.
"People with alcohol-related disorders are often discriminated against. They are being rejected," says Jasmohan Bajaj, professor and lead author of the new study. – But it's a disease, just like any other. This is a genetic predisposition, and intestinal microbes can contribute to the development of this dependence."
Previous studies that have been conducted on animals have shown that TFM can improve alcohol-related behavior. However, this time the scientists conducted the first placebo-controlled trial of the technique in humans.
The trial involved 20 patients with clinically diagnosed alcohol use disorder. The group consisted of men aged about 60 years suffering from cirrhosis of the liver caused by alcohol consumption.
Half of them received a placebo, and half received an active intestinal bacteria transplant collected from a single donor. It contained a large number of bacteria of the families Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae. It is their lack that is observed in people suffering from alcoholism.
The transplantation was performed using an enema. As the follow-up of the patients showed, they really changed various physiological and behavioral parameters. Control measurements were made at two time points – on the 15th day after transplantation and six months later.
"Nine out of ten patients who underwent transplantation actually had reduced cravings for alcohol and decreased the content of alcohol–related metabolites in the urine," says Bajaj about the first 15-day follow-up. – Objectively, they have reduced alcohol consumption."
In the control group that received a placebo, there were only three patients who showed a similar level of improvement.
Yes, this is just a small preliminary study so far. It is too early to draw conclusions that such a method will certainly help 9 out of 10 patients in real medical practice. However, the study confirms the efficiency of the concept and, first of all, shows that such treatment is safe.
In this first phase of trials, we concluded that TFM for men with cirrhosis of the liver is safe, associated with a reduction in short-term desire to drink and a decrease in alcohol consumption with favorable microbial changes, the researchers write in an article published in Hepatology (Bajaj et al., . A Randomized Clinical Trial of Fecal Microbiota Transplant for Alcohol Use Disorder).
We should add that Bajaj's group previously published another article indicating the connection between the composition of the microbiome, liver cirrhosis and human health indicators. Scientists have come to the conclusion that men and women experience this disease differently, they are helped by different medications, which may also be related to the composition of microorganisms in their intestines.
Another study published in Gastroenterology showed that the composition of the fecal microbiome and the substances secreted by it can determine which hospitalized patients with cirrhosis of the liver will soon die.
Earlier, we also reported that intestinal bacteria do not allow some people to recover from cancer, and also about a study in which the life expectancy of fish was increased by transplanting "young feces" to them.
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