A rare condition sees some humans developing alcohol in their gut after a carb binge, but scientists in Europe think they might have found the cure — poo transplants.
The researchers from Belgium’s University Hospital Ghent detailed the story of a man who was discovered to have gut fermentation syndrome, also known as auto-brewery — a condition where the gut produces ethanol in response to a high intake of carbohydrates.
The 47-year-old man reported feeling drunk over the course of two months despite not consuming any alcohol. It was suspected he had the rare auto-brewery condition and was recommended to take an antimycotic drug, an anti-fungal medicine, and to lower his intake of foods high in carbohydrates. You know, pasta, bread and all the delicious things that we often crave.
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It didn’t work so the clinicians proposed something more drastic — a fecal microbiota transplantation, or as we all understand it, a poo transplant.
Poo transplants work by treating a donor’s sample so it’s just the good gut bacteria and then inserting it via a colonoscopy — a probe with a camera fitted that inspects the bowel through the anus opening.
The transplant seemed to work as the man’s symptoms went away and he was able to resume eating carbs and drinking alcohol on occasion with no return of the condition. The man’s health was monitored for 34 months after the transplant and was deemed successful for that duration.
The case study has been published in the aptly-titled, Annals of Internal Medicine.
The new research could certainly help those with the condition, though alternative treatments have been successful in other past cases.
Poo transplants, however, are being touted as a solution for a number of other gut conditions including chronic bowel condition sufferers.
Australia’s first known poo donation bank has been offering South Australians money in exchange for stool donations.
Because of the country’s high levels of bowel conditions, stool donations are high on the priority list. They’ve already helped successfully treat Australians suffering from C. difficile infection — a disease in the large intestine that causes abdominal pain and a host of other symptoms.
Sometimes, it’s good to give a shit.
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