Are fecal transplantations an option for multiple sclerosis?

Question:
Are fecal transplantations a safe cure for MS? There are studies in Australia, as well as a wealth of knowledge printed that point to the role that microbiota play in this disease. There are labs based out of Boston that are non-profit stool banks such as OpenBiome. It is only approved for use in bacteria C.difficile and their website says other indications require an IND. Is this something the team can look into? The few printed case studies of MS patients in Australia have been dramatic.

Answer:
I would not refer to an untested treatment as a potential, “safe cure” for anything, let alone MS. Many research groups are studying the microbiome in MS and other conditions but we are not ready to offer fecal transplants yet. To my knowledge there are no studies of fecal transplants currently underway in the US and there none listed at the Clinicaltrials.gov site of registered studies.
Fecal transplants are particularly useful for conditions in which invasive bacterial overgrowth in the intestines is directly linked to disease. This is the case with Clostridium Difficile infections. Until we understand how alteration of the gut microbiome affects MS and other autoimmune diseases,it is difficult to get approval and funding for expensive clinical trials. It is hoped that the studies underway outside the US will pave the way.
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Revere (Rip) Kinkel MD
Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program
Professor of Clinical Neurosciences
University of California San Diego​