As gross as it may sound, an old method for treating dangerous intestinal infections is being studied. Research on fecal transplants done in the Netherlands was published in the New England Journal of Medicine this month.  Doctors in the U.S. first tried this unorthodox treatment in 1958 to treat patients with life-threatening pseudomembranous enterocolitis (colitis). This unconventional treatment involves feces from a healthy donor transplanted into the intestines of patients with these serious infections. The study looked at sixteen people who had recurring infections of Clostridium difficile. After transplant, 15 of the 16 were cured. Among those with the same infection treated with antibiotics, only 3 of 13 and 4 of 13 patients were cured. The healthy bacteria from the donor feces … [Read more...]