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A new drug, baptized Vowst, has just been authorized in the United States. His particuliarity ? It is made from human fecal matter.

Ingest the fecal matter of another human to restore his intestinal flora… The idea seems absurd, and yet, it is the principle of a new American drug, which has been validated by the Food Drug and Administration (FDA ), as reported by Futura Science.

The idea of ​​this drug is to transmit the “good” bacteria from one microbiota to another microbiota that lacks them. In this case, Vowst’s objective is to prevent an infection with a bacterium called “Clostridioides difficile”. It causes diarrhea, which can be moderate or severe, andinflammation of the colon, according to information from the Canadian government. It is also known to be resistant to antibiotics.

Transmission of microbiota

The researchers wanted to find another way to treat patients affected by this bacterium, since the classic route, that of antibiotics, was a failure. They were frequently reinfected afterwards, because the microbiota was too low in “good” bacteria to defend itself. So they conducted studies to see if a “transplant” of gut microbiota could be helpful.

Of 182 people studied for several weeks, it was observed that this therapy significantly reduced reinfection. Eight weeks after the start of treatment, only 12.4% of people who had received Vowst contracted “Clostridioides difficile” again, compared with 39.8% of those who had been given a placebo.

On the other hand, this therapeutic option has drawbacks, such as intestinal disorders such as constipation, diarrhea or even swelling. And as it is a human microbiota, the transmission is not without risk… The FDA specifies that it can be the source of transmission of other infectious agents.

Source: Futura Science, Canada.ca

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