Holster S¹, Lindqvist CM¹, Repsilber D¹, Salonen A², de Vos WM^2,3, König J¹, Brummer RJ¹. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2019 Apr;10(4):e00034. doi: 10.14309/ctg.0000000000000034.

Author information

1 Nutrition-Gut-Brain Interactions Research Centre, Faculty of Health and Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden.

2 Human Microbiome Research Program, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

3 Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Wageningen, the Netherlands.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Fecal microbiota transfer (FMT) is suggested as a potential treatment for patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). We aimed to study the effect of allogenic and autologous FMT on IBS symptoms, visceral sensitivity, and compositional changes in fecal and mucosa-adherent microbiota.

METHODS: Seventeen patients with IBS were randomized either to receive fecal material from a healthy donor (allogenic) or to receive their own fecal material (autologous). The fecal material was administered into the cecum by whole colonoscopy after bowelcleansing.

RESULTS: No significant differences were found between the allogenic and the autologous FMT regarding symptom scores. However, symptom scores of patients receiving allogenic fecal material significantly decreased after FMT compared with baseline (P = 0.02), which was not the case in the autologous group (P = 0.16). Visceral sensitivity was not affected except for a small beneficial effect on urge scores in the autologous group (P < 0.05). While both fecal and mucosa-adherent microbiota of some patients shifted to their respective donor's fecal microbiota, some patients showed no relevant microbial changes after allogenic FMT. Large compositional shifts in fecal and mucosa-adherent microbiota also occurred in the autologous group.

CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that a single FMT by colonoscopy may have beneficial effects in IBS; however, the allogenic fecal material was not superior to the autologous fecal material. This suggests that bowel cleansing prior to the colonoscopy and/or processing of the fecal material as part of the FMT routine contribute to symptoms and gut microbiota composition changes in IBS.