ACT in action.

International researchers have uncovered potentially diagnostic gut microbiome signatures and metabolic pathways associated specifically with Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s disease.

What’s the best way to prepare a fecal microbiota transplantation? In attempts to keep all gut bacteria alive, a clinical trial was done in ulcerative colitis patients, using FMT prepared without the bacteria touching oxygen. This anaerobic (without oxygen) preparation seemed to be more effective for UC patients, according to Samuel P. Costello.

Researchers have singled out a bacterial enzyme behind an imbalance in the gut microbiome linked to Crohn’s disease. The new study suggests that wiping out a significant portion of the bacteria in the gut microbiome, and then re-introducing a certain type of ‘good’ bacteria that lacks this enzyme, known as urease, may be an effective approach to better treat these diseases.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an autoimmune condition where, in most cases, there are multiple triggers stimulating the immune system in multiple ways over a long period of time.

It is widely known that fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is effective for the treatment of recurring Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection, but new research supports the procedure’s efficacy for helping patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).