Fecal Microbiota Transplant Treatment Approved by the FDA

The balance of microbial populations making up the gut microbiome changes with age in ways that produce harm, such as loss of beneficial metabolites, and generation of chronic inflammation. This form of aging is only loosely connected to age-related damage in our tissues, in that animal studies appear to show that a readjustment of the balance of populations in the gut microbiome of an aged animal, making it more youthful, will persist even as aging progresses in the body. In killifish, the result is improved health and extended life span; in mice, similar studies have demonstrated improved health, with lifespan studies yet to take place. One of the approaches capable of rejuvenating the gut microbiome is fecal microbiota transplantation, a procedure that is exactly as it sounds. As a matter of interest to the longevity community, one implementation of fecal microbiota transplant is now FDA approved for treatment of C. difficile infection. This approval will make it a great deal easier for groups with the motivation and funding to run low-cost clinical trials to demonstrate that fecal microbiota transplantation from young to old individuals will improve function and health in the older recipient. I believe that this sort of activity, aimed at convincing physicians and the public that rejuvenation is possible, is important and necessary to accelerate progress towards greater human longevity. Once a treatment is approved for one use, it can in principle be prescribed off...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Politics and Legislation Source Type: blogs