Fecal Transplant from Obese Daughter Turns Mom Obese

Can fecal transplants lead to obesity? Well, a woman who got a poo transplant from an overweight donor became increasingly obese after the treatment. Before treatment, the woman had normal weight and regular body mass index.

The treatment is known as Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) with the aim of effectively countering the bacteria of C. difficile infection. The patients need to take antibiotics and report serious complications due to the digestive infections. The objective of the fecal transplant process is to reinstate the good bacteria that has been damaged and to balance out the not-so good bacteria of the C. difficile bacteria. The bad bacteria keep reproducing in the colon. The technique is followed by colonoscopy to treat the infection.

The woman showed a surge of weight from 9.5 to 12 stone. Her BMI rose from 26 to 33 that falls under the range of obesity. In spite of placing her on strict diet, her weight showed no decrease. Her weight further rose to 12 ½ stone and her BMI became 34. The findings have created a sort of commotion among the medical specialists at Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School. The researchers are wondering if the weight gain has something to do with the fecal transplant and whether those good bacteria have impacted the metabolism negatively.

Esbtrib reports that the results were equated to past studies on animals and they seem to reveal similar cases. Specialist are now careful about the donors they select and the weight. However, they are still not very sure if those bacteria are the only reason of the gain in weight. There is a need to do further research in the matter, and FMT studies can help lead to defining the combinations of helpful bacteria that can help progress human health.