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Efficacy and safety of single fecal microbiota transplantation for Japanese patients with mild to moderately active ulcerative colitis

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Abstract

Background

The clinical utility of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) is still controversial. We investigated the efficacy and safety of single FMT for patients with mild to moderately active UC in a Japanese population.

Methods

Fifty-seven patients were evaluated for eligibility, and 16 patients were excluded. Forty-one patients with UC refractory to standard medical therapy were treated with single FMT by colonoscopic administration. Changes in the fecal microbiota were assessed by 16S ribosomal DNA based terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

Results

At 8 weeks after FMT, no patient achieved clinical remission, and 11 of 41 patients (26.8 %) showed clinical response. The full Mayo score and the Mayo clinical score significantly decreased at week 8 [full Mayo score 5.5 ± 2.4 (mean ± standard deviation) at initiation and 4.6 ± 2.2 at week 8, P < 0.004; Mayo clinical score 4.0 ± 2.0 at initiation and 3.0 ± 1.9 at week 8, P < 0.001], but there were no statistically significant effects on the Mayo endoscopic score. No adverse events occurred after FMT or during the follow-up period of 8 weeks. The proportion of Bifidobacterium was significantly higher in the donor feces used for responders than in the donor feces used for nonresponders. The proportion of Lactobacillales and Clostridium cluster IV were significantly higher in the donor feces used for nonresponders.

Conclusions

Single FMT by colonoscopy was performed safely in all patients, but sufficient clinical efficacy and microbial restoration were not confirmed in patients with mild to moderately active UC.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank TechnoSuruga Laboratory (Sizuoka, Japan) for technical support. This study was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (15K08967), a grant for the study of intractable diseases from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan, a grant from the Practical Research Project for Rare/Intractable Diseases from Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, and a grant from Smoking Research Foundation.

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Correspondence to Akira Andoh.

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Conflict of interest

Akira Andoh has received lecture fees from AbbVie GK. The other authors declare that they have no conflict of interest .

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535_2016_1271_MOESM2_ESM.pptx

Changes of the fecal microbial structure after FMT. The fecal microbial composition was assessed by T-RFLP analysis, and the microbial structures of 4 representative patients and their donors are illustrated. W0 patient at screening, W8 patient at 8 weeks after FMT, D donor. (PPTX 72 kb)

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Nishida, A., Imaeda, H., Ohno, M. et al. Efficacy and safety of single fecal microbiota transplantation for Japanese patients with mild to moderately active ulcerative colitis. J Gastroenterol 52, 476–482 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-016-1271-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-016-1271-4

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