David PerlmutterPresident,, Perlmutter Health Center · Board-Certified Neurologist | Functional Medicine Pioneer | #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author | International Speaker | Host of The Empowering Neurologist Podcast

Explaining Fecal Transplant

15 Mar 2015 · 1 min

Watch on YouTube

1:27

In this segment from his book Brain Maker, Dr. David Perlmutter explains fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) as a method to regenerate and reset a compromised gut microbiome. He notes that FMT has been used for many years in the United States to treat Clostridium difficile infection, with more than 150 hospitals employing the procedure. Perlmutter discusses the emerging interest in applying FMT to other conditions where the gut microbiome is disturbed, specifically mentioning autism and multiple sclerosis as examples under investigation. He emphasizes that such uses are not yet mainstream, are not FDA‑approved, and he does not perform FMT in his own clinical practice. The purpose of highlighting FMT in Brain Maker is to explore its potential as a powerful tool for microbiome restoration.

Chapters

One of the topics in Brain Maker that is raising a lot of eyebrows is the notion that we approach something called fecal transplantation. And what that involves is really a way of regenerating the microbiome, of actually pressing the reset button in individuals whose gut bacteria have been compromised. And, you know, this has been a technique that's been used here in America for many years to treat a particular infection called Clostridium difficile. Matter of fact, More than 150 hospitals here in America are now using fecal transplant, where the fecal material from a healthy individual is transplanted into an individual who needs to rebuild his microbiome. We are now exploring the broader use of this technique for other issues in which we understand that the gut microbiome has been disturbed. We actually discussed the use of FMT, or fecal microbial transplant, In, for example, the treatment of autism, considering it in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, for example. And clearly, this is not mainstream. It is not an FDA-approved treatment. It is not a treatment that I actually do in our clinical practice. But the purpose of Brain Maker is really to explore this, explore these ideas, because it really offers a very powerful way of resetting the gut microbiome.