A study, presented at the World Congress of Gastroenterology at ACG2017, examined how fecal microbiota transplantation affected the safety, liver enzyme and microbiome profiles of primary sclerosing cholangitis patients.
Jessica R. Allegretti, MD, of Boston-based Brigham & Women's Hospital, and colleagues conducted an open-label pilot study of 10 PSC patients with concurrent inflammatory bowel disease. All patients no longer used ursodeoxycholic acid. They had a single FMT from a healthy donor. The study's primary efficacy outcome was a decrease in ALP by or more than 50 percent from baseline post-FMT. Six patients completed the FMT to date.
Here's what they found:
1. Mean baseline ALP was 441.3 IU/L.
2. Researchers observed no adverse effects.
3. Concerning efficacy, three of the patients had a 50 percent or more decrease in ALP by week 26.
4. Average ALP decrease was 250 compared to 10 in nonresponders by week 26.
5. A microbiome analysis revealed that pre-FMT alpha diversity was less than the controls. Diversity increased in all patients the first week after FMT and remained elevated in most patients.
Researchers concluded, "To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that FMT from a rationally selected donor is safe, increases microbial diversity and may improve ALP among PSC patients."
The World Congress of Gastroenterology at ACG2017 took place from Oct. 13 to Oct. 18 in Orlando, Fla.
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