FMT has been used in human medicine for thousands of years. The transfer of fecal material from a healthy to a diseased person to cure disease goes back as far as fourth-century China, and has been performed for hundreds of years throughout Europe. The practice gained momentum in the United States in the 1950s and has become an increasingly widespread treatment method with well-documented success.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows the application of FMT for some human health conditions, although the procedure continues to demonstrate beneficial results for many conditions that are not yet approved.
For example, under a policy of enforcement discretion of the FDA, FMT is permissible for recurrent Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections, where it has been shown in both research studies and clinical practice to be both highly effective and safe.8,9 And it has proven to be a most promising solution for the low gut bacterial diversity associated with Crohn’s disease (a form of IBD).9,10 Further a recent review of clinical studies suggests that FMT may benefit patients with hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and metabolic dysfunction, and may stop the progression of type 1 diabetes.13 FMT has also been used successfully in clinical trials to reduce inflammatory events in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and to treat the symptoms of autism.11,12
FMT Use in Animals
FMT has been used in large-animal veterinary medicine since the 17th century.14 In cattle and horses, the practice is often called “transfaunation.”15 Since the mid-20th century, FMT’s success against C. diff infections in humans has led to an expansion of this approach into small-animal veterinary medicine, especially as a treatment for chronic diarrhea in cats and dogs.8
Many animal studies have shown that FMT can help resolve diarrhea caused by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or parvovirus (parvo), as well as skin issues like atopic dermatitis.5,7,17
In a study conducted by AnimalBiome, 72 cats and 40 dogs with IBD were given a 25-day course of oral FMT capsules (our Gut Restore Supplement). Symptoms improved in 83% of the cats and 80% of the dogs. About a quarter of the cats and half of the dogs also had an increase in appetite. This study demonstrates that FMT can be an effective tool to improve symptoms and increase quality of life for pets living with IBD. Further beneficial groups of bacteria were found to have significantly increased in both cats and dogs enrolled in this study.1,2
How FMT is Administered
FMT can be delivered in the clinic via colonoscopy, retention enema, or endoscopy, or orally via enteric protected capsules. AnimalBiome has developed its one-of-a-kind fecal transplant in an oral capsule, offering a convenient and safe approach to fecal transplantation for cats and dogs.
AnimalBiome’s FMT Gut Restore Supplement is an oral FMT with an enteric coated capsule that gives your patient the benefits of FMT without the need for surgery or sedation. Our FMT Gut Restore Oral Supplement delivers native healthy core microbes from species-specific screened donor stool. Our donor material is highly screened for pathogens and parasites, cross referenced with our healthy reference set, cryoprotected, and freeze-dried. Stable at room temperature, the capsules offer a noninvasive, and an affordable alternative for your patients suffering from microbiome dysbiosis associated issues.
For patients that are pill-defensive or who have severe dysbiosis, we offer species-specific enema material from our rigorously screened donors. Learn more about our donor screening process.
Symptoms or Conditions That FMT Can Help With
Extensive scientific evidence already supports the effectiveness of FMT for a number of conditions and diseases, and as research continues into the connections between microbiome imbalances and health conditions, more ways that FMT therapy can benefit overall health are sure to be revealed.
In cats and dogs, FMT has proven to be especially useful for the two categories of health problems that account for the majority of visits to veterinarians: digestive and skin conditions.18
Digestive Conditions
Clinical symptoms related to the digestive system can have different causes and present in a variety of ways, such as diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, regurgitation and weight loss. When dealing with refractory cases or those where other more common diagnoses have been ruled out, checking the gut microbiome should be the next step in the diagnostic plan. A gut microbiome test can show an imbalance within the microbiome due to missing bacteria or overgrowths of pathogenic microbes.
For example, the genus Escherichia can be a beneficial member of the community when it makes up only a small part of a cat’s or dog’s gut microbiome. But an overgrowth of Escherichia can cause diarrhea and other clinical digestive symptoms. Elevated Escherichia levels are very common in cats and dogs.
FMT can resolve diarrhea quickly by introducing a diverse community of beneficial bacteria that out-compete the harmful microbes, restoring healthy function to the digestive system.
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