New research out of Australia suggests an effective treatment for ulcerative colitis, a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that leads to inflammation of the large intestine and the rectum.
The study points to a type of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) — yes, poop transplant — that yielded an improvement in people’s symptoms and, in some cases, remission of the disease. This was found in people with mild to moderate ulcerative colitis.
The study, led by doctors at the University of Adelaide in Australia, was published in JAMA.For those unfamiliar, ulcerative colitis is one of the diseases that falls under the broad umbrella of IBD, conditions that lead to chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.
While Crohn’s disease affects the entire digestive system, ulcerative colitis hits the colon, or large intestine, and the rectum, specifically, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
IBD is widespread, with the CDC reporting that, in 2015, 1.3 percent of adults in the United States — about 3 million people — had a diagnosis of either Crohn’s or ulcerative colitis.
For comparison, just 16 years earlier that number stood at 2 million people.
Ulcerative colitis can range in severity. Symptoms can include bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps, rectal pain or bleeding, weight loss, fatigue, and fever.
Exact causes remain a mystery to doctors, but you should consider speaking to your physician if you notice changes in your bowel function, including abdominal pain, bloody stool, persisting diarrhea, and fevers that last longer than a day, according to Mayo Clinic.
Ulcerative colitis is serious. People who have this condition are at higher risk for colon cancer.
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