New treatment being tested

This is amazing. New treatment being tested. What would you say?

Researchers test fecal transplant, stem cells for treating Crohn's disease.

Fecal transplant may be an option for Crohn's disease treatment according to preliminary research conducted among children. A second study recently found stem cells can help repair fistulas that are an all too common complication of Crohn's disease.

In one study fecal transplant that uses feces from a healthy donor resulted in remission of Crohn's disease in seven out of nine children treated.
Dr. David Suskind, a gastroenterologist at Seattle Children's Hospital who led the new study said in a press release: "This research could change the way Crohn’s disease is treated and help unravel the mystery of what causes it,”
Fecal transplant, also known as fecal microbial transplant or FMT, is not yet approved by the FDA as a Crohn's disease treatment. Past studies are mixed regarding the benefit for IBD treatment. Nevertheless, patients have been performing the procedure at home and reporting good results. A simple internet search yields multiple results of videos complete with do-it-yourself instructions.

The study is the first to be approved by the FDA and should lead to more research and more information about long-term outcomes and who would benefit from the procedure.

In your above post, it mentions stem cells for fistulas. Sounds promising.

"In a separate study researchers in Korea were able to "heal' fistulas from Crohn's disease using stem cells taken from a patient's own fat tissue.
Dr. Chang Sik Yu led the study. Patients with Crohn's disease were injected with stem cells and "glue" surgically. The study results, published in the journal Stem Cells Translational Medicine reported seventy-five percent of 36 patients had no recurring fistula after two years.

Larger studies are needed for fecal transplant and stem cells injections as a treatment for Crohn's disease to ensure safety and effectiveness. "

Abstract:

Long-Term Results of Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Therapy for the Treatment of Crohn’s Fistula

Yong Beom Choa,*, Kyu Joo Parkb,*, Sang Nam Yoonc, Kee Ho Songd, Do Sun Kimd, Sang Hun Junge, Mihyung Kimf, Hee Young Jeongf and Chang Sik Yuc

Correspondence: Chang Sik Yu, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Colon and Rectal Surgery, University of Ulsan College of Medicine and Asan Medical Center, 88 Olympic-ro 43-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul 138-736, Korea. Telephone: 82-2-3010-3494; E-Mail: csyu@amc.seoul.kr


First published online in SCTM on March 31, 2015.
Abstract

A previous phase II clinical trial of adipose-derived stem cell (ASC) therapy for fistulae associated with Crohn’s disease, a devastating condition with a high recurrence rate, demonstrated safety and therapeutic potential with a 1-year sustained response. In the present study, 41 of the 43 phase II trial patients were followed for an additional year, regardless of response in the initial year. At 24 months, complete healing was observed in 21 of 26 patients (80.8%) in modified per protocol analysis and 27 of 36 patients (75.0%) in modified intention-to-treat analysis. No adverse events related to ASC administration were observed. Furthermore, complete closure after initial treatment was well-sustained. These results strongly suggest that autologous ASCs may be a novel treatment option for Crohn’s fistulae.