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Searching for superstool: maximizing the therapeutic potential of FMT

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Faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), a highly effective treatment for Clostridium difficile infection, is now being explored for complex diseases, but innovative trial design and collaborative approaches are essential for unlocking its therapeutic potential. If ‘superstool’ capable of treating a complex disease exists, then FMT trials should aim to find and use it.

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Fig. 1: Model of donor stool heterogeneity in treating complex diseases.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Scott W. Olesen & Eric J. Alm

  2. Boston Children’s Hospital, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, Boston, MA, USA

    McKenzie M. Leier & Stacy A. Kahn

  3. Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Eric J. Alm

  4. The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Eric J. Alm

  5. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Stacy A. Kahn

Authors
  1. Scott W. Olesen
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  2. McKenzie M. Leier
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  3. Eric J. Alm
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  4. Stacy A. Kahn
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Correspondence to Stacy A. Kahn.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Olesen, S.W., Leier, M.M., Alm, E.J. et al. Searching for superstool: maximizing the therapeutic potential of FMT. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 15, 387–388 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-018-0019-4

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