Given its substantial success in treating Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and accompanying symptoms, FMT usage increased in recent years as a result of epidemics of CDI in the USA and Europe.

The use of FMT in several idiopathic illnesses is being paved by reports of uses outside of CDI as more patients seek therapy and more clinics add FMT to their treatment options.

Early History of Fecal Transplant

The first documented case of FMT dates back to Ancient China. Ge Hong talks about fecal transplants in his book, roughly translated as Emergency Prescriptions (Zhou Hou Bei Ji Fang). He suggests this treatment for severe diarrhea, but it is administered orally.

Then, in the 17th century, Italian anatomist Fabricius Acquapendente reported the first veterinary usage of fecal transplant.

However, another three centuries passed before the systemic research and usage of FMT. It has been used and analyzed for the past fifty years.

Legal Recognition

Although treatable with antibiotics, Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) sometimes keeps recurring and does not respond to more antibiotics. Researchers have found that with FMT, though, it is treated with a great rate of success. And thanks to this discovery, in 2013 FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) approved the clinical treatment of FMT in CDI as an alternative medicine.

In 2022, Australia became the first to give regulatory license for fecal transplants to treat gastrointestinal disorders.

And less than a year later, FDA approved the first orally-administered FMT capsule.

What can FMT treat?

The gut microbiota is gradually becoming recognized as a human microbial organ with significant involvement in immunity and energy metabolism, which has substantially fueled interest in this treatment.

This new understanding reveals that many diseases are caused by dysfunctional microbiota, at least partially. The investigation of several conditions is encouraged by this understanding.

Among them are:

  • C.diff

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Autism

  • Cancer

  • Immunity problems

  • Obesity

  • Diabetes and diabetic neuropathy

  • Food allergies

  • Cirrhosis

  • Multiple sclerosis

  • Ulcerative colitis (UC)

It is undoubtedly an exciting time in the developing science of FMT as the topic of microbiota-related illnesses is still in its infancy, and we anticipate seeing new and previously unanticipated applications in the near future.

Randomized trials with excellent design and execution are now required to categorize these microbiota-related diseases better.