Poo ‘mashed up in a cocktail blender’ and crushed into a pill could treat killer liver disease, scientists say
A PILL filled with poo dubbed a ‘cr*psule’ will be trialled as a treatment for patients with liver disease in the UK.
The therapy, known as a faecal microbiota transplant, is believed to boost gut health and prevent deadly infections.
Trials using a feeding tube found that 32 patients with liver cirrhosis had increased good bacteria in their guts, a stronger gut wall and lower levels of deadly ammonia in the blood.
Scientists at King’s College London now say they will test the more user-friendly version of the treatment in a pill.
It is made with freeze-dried samples of human stool and will be taken every three months for two years.
Dr Lindsey Edwards, speaking at the European Association for the Study of the Liver congress in Vienna said: “We take poop and mash it up in a cocktail blender.
“It’s either administered by endoscopy or you can take it by capsules – or we call them ‘cr*psules’.
“It restores all of your good bacteria and the good thing about that is it restores all of those enzymes and it metabolically reprograms you, essentially.”
Around 600,000 people in the UK have liver disease and deaths are on the rise.
Research shows patients often have higher-than-average levels of bad gut bacteria, which raise the risk of nasty infections that are hard to treat.
Adding good bacteria from the guts of healthy patients can help to balance this out and improve health.
Scientists say this could even offer hope to people with cirrhosis, which is a deadly build-up of scar tissue that comes after years of damage to the organ.
These patients’ only hope is often a transplant, but waits can be long.
Dr Edwards added: “Infections to liver patients are deadly for two reasons.
“They either die with the infection or they get delisted from transplant, which is a last resort.”
Trial leader Professor Debbie Shawcross added: “The ‘cr*psules’, which have none of the taste or smell as the name suggests, may offer new hope for patients with cirrhosis who are out of treatment options.”
The trial will involve 300 Brits at 16 clinics across the UK and treat them with the capsules once every three months for two years.
Scientists are also trying to find out if faecal microbiota transplants can help treat other bowel diseases, obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Pamela Healy, chief of the British Liver Trust, said: “We are delighted to support this innovative research that could become a life-changing treatment for patients.”