Published online May 21, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i19.3565
Peer-review started: January 27, 2017
First decision: February 23, 2017
Revised: March 9, 2017
Accepted: April 12, 2017
Article in press: April 12, 2017
Published online: May 21, 2017
Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a promising strategy that involves reconstruction of gut microbiota. Recently, it has been considered as a treatment of Crohn’s disease (CD) and certain neurological diseases. Here, to the best of our knowledge, we report the first case that used FMT to achieve remission of intestinal and neurological symptoms in a girl with CD and a 17-year history of epilepsy. During the 20 mo of follow-up, FMT has proved its efficacy in preventing relapse of seizures after withdrawing the antiepileptic drugs. Furthermore, this finding highlights the role of microbiota-gut-brain axis and inspires a novel treatment for epilepsy through remodeling gut microbiota.
Core tip: We report a case of 17-year history of epilepsy which fortunately showed improvement as a result of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) treatment for Crohn’s disease. This is the first report that FMT has been used in epilepsy treatment to our knowledge. This case might open a new window into disease mechanism focusing on the microbiota-gut-brain axis and inspire a novel treatment for epilepsy through remodeling of gut microbiota.