A clinical trial is being launched in the UK to test the effectiveness of fecal transplants in patients with advanced liver disease.
The trial will test whether freeze-drying feces from healthy people into ingestible capsules can reduce the likelihood of infection in people with cirrhosis.
Cirrhosis is a disease that occurs when the liver develops scarring and permanent damage.
People with liver damage have higher levels of “bad” bacteria in their gut than healthy people, meaning they are more likely to contract infections that are difficult to treat with conventional antibiotics, research has shown.
The trial will investigate whether eating “crapsules,” as they are called, which often contain so-called “good” microbes or bacteria, can improve the gut health of people with cirrhosis.
Dr Lindsey Edwards, a lecturer at King’s College London and one of the leaders of the trial, said she hoped the tests would help patients with advanced liver disease reduce their need for antibiotics in the future.
“There is an urgent need to address infections and antimicrobial resistance in chronic liver disease,” she said.
“If we can alter the microbiome to boost the immune system in patients with liver disease to reduce infection, we could reduce the need for antibiotic prescriptions.”
Around 300 people are expected to take part in the trial, which is being funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research.
Patients will be randomly assigned to receive either freeze-dried stool capsules or placebo tablets every three months for two years.
a previous trial Fecal microbiome transplantation (FMT) was found to be effective and safe in about 32 people.
Professor Debbie Shawcross, the trial’s lead researcher, assured potential participants: “‘Broken flowers’, as the name suggests, lacks any taste or smell and may offer new hope to patients with cirrhosis who have no treatment options.” .
According to the UK Liver Trust, which took part in the trial, liver disease kills around 40 people a day and is the third leading cause of premature death in working-age people.