Malnick S, Melzer E. Human microbiome: From the bathroom to the bedside. World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol 2015; 6(3): 79-85 [PMID: 26301122 DOI: 10.4291/wjgp.v6.i3.79]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Stephen Malnick, MA (Oxon), MSc, MBBS (Lond), Director, Department of Internal Medicine C, Kaplan Medical Center, Affiliated to the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel. stephen@malnick.net
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. Aug 15, 2015; 6(3): 79-85 Published online Aug 15, 2015. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v6.i3.79
Human microbiome: From the bathroom to the bedside
Stephen Malnick, Ehud Melzer
Stephen Malnick, Department of Internal Medicine C, Kaplan Medical Center, Affiliated to the Hebrew University, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Ehud Melzer, Institute of Gastroenterology and Liver Disease, Kaplan Medical Center, Affiliated to the Hebrew University, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Author contributions: Both authors contributed to this manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Stephen Malnick, MA (Oxon), MSc, MBBS (Lond), Director, Department of Internal Medicine C, Kaplan Medical Center, Affiliated to the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel. stephen@malnick.net
Telephone: +972-8-9441371 Fax: +972-8-9441852
Received: February 3, 2015 Peer-review started: February 4, 2015 First decision: March 20, 2015 Revised: April 17, 2015 Accepted: April 28, 2015 Article in press: April 30, 2015 Published online: August 15, 2015
Abstract
The human gut contains trillions of bacteria, the major phylae of which include Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. Fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) has been known of for many years but only recently has been subjected to rigorous examination. We review the evidence regarding FMT for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection which has resulted in it being an approved treatment. In addition there is some evidence for its use in both irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. Further research is needed in order to define the indications for FMT and the most appropriate method of administration.
Core tip: Fecal microbial transplantation is approved for the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection by either nasojejunal administration or colonoscopy. In addition there is some evidence for its use in both irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease. There are, however, reports of side effects including weight gain, diverticulitis and development of autoimmune disease. Treatment for non-approved conditions should be performed in the framework of clinical research trials in order to better define the indications.
