Fecal Transplant May Help Reduce Infections in Long-Term Care Patients

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

Alternative Health, Health & Fitness

4.6 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a therapy that restores balance in the gut by transferring healthy bacteria, helping patients escape the cycle of repeated antibiotic failures and infections
A recent clinical trial found that FMT was safe and well tolerated in frail long-term care patients, showing fewer bloodstream infections and less antibiotic use than standard care
Even though transplant recipients still carried resistant bacteria, they experienced fewer serious infections, proving that restoring microbiome diversity strengthens the body's defenses against harmful microbes
A national registry of 259 patients showed 90% were cured of recurrent Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection after just one FMT treatment, with results lasting beyond six months
FDA-approved products like Vowst and Rebyota now make FMT accessible in oral capsule and rectal forms, offering new hope for those facing stubborn gut infections

Transcript

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0:00.0	What if the fastest way to stop relentless infections isn't another antibiotic,
0:04.0	but rebuilding the microbes inside your gut so they can defend you?
0:08.0	Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom.
0:12.0	Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go.
0:17.0	No reading required. Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights.
0:21.9	Hello and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. I'm Ethan Foster and today we're looking
0:29.5	at fecal microbiota transplantation. How restoring microbial balance is helping long-term care patients
0:36.3	and those battling recurrent C.
0:38.2	Diffassoe.
0:39.2	I'm Alara Skye.
0:40.8	Fecal microbiota transplantation, or FMT, transfers microbes from a healthy donor to someone
0:47.0	whose gut ecology has been disrupted.
0:49.8	In the FMT National Registry of 259 people ranging from infancy to nearly 190% were free of recurrent C.
0:58.9	Difficil one month after treatment, and only 4% relapsed by six months.
1:04.4	Most side effects were mild, like bloating or abdominal discomfort.
1:08.7	In a clinical trial published in JAMA Network Open,
1:11.6	clinicians in Atlanta evaluated frail long-term care patients
1:14.6	colonized with multi-drug-resistant organisms.
1:18.6	42 individuals were followed.
1:20.6	10 received FMT via gastrostomy tube or enema,
1:24.6	and 32 received standard care.
1:26.6	Tolerability was high, with one case of mild vomiting after administration.
	...

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