Restoring bacterial populations in gut

Normalizing the microflora of the gut can be beneficial for health and is associated with relief of many different maladies.

The gut microbiota occupies a pivotal role in educating and entraining the immune system in order to establish self-tolerance and to prevent the self-directed immune reactions that comprise autoimmune disease. Restoration of bacterial populations promotes immunomodulatory effects, which engenders equilibrium in the immune system and prevent aberrant autoimmune responses.

As importantly, the commensal microbiota inhibit the overgrowth of pathogenic organisms by competing for attachment sites. In addition, they are integral to nutrient assimilation and metabolism, as well as to production of essential mucosal nutrients. For instance, gut microbes ferment indigestible fiber, also known as microbiota accessible carbohydrates, into short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate, which in turn reinforce the gut lining and prevent development of pathologic leaky gut syndrome.

Faecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT) is the transfer of the faecal microbiota from a healthy donor to a diseased recipient in order to restore a balanced gut microbial ecology and in turn, foster the resolution of symptoms. A liquid suspension of homogenized stool is instilled into the gastrointestinal tract of the patient by various modes of administration, including nasogastric tube, nasojejunal tube, or upper tract endoscopy from the proximal side of the digestive tract, or via a retention enema or colonoscopy from the distal end.