- Researchers find that fecal transplants may improve age-related gut issues.
- The study, conducted on mice, has interesting real-world implications.
- Here, a gastroenterologist explains the findings and what they mean for the future of gut medicine.
When we talk about the woes of aging, we quickly dive into brain health, mobility, and age-related weight gain, but easily leave out age-related gut health changes. Maybe it’s the taboo nature of, well, poop, but like the rest of our bodies, our guts change over time. This may cause major issues that a probiotic may not be enough to fix. Now, according to new research, scientists believe poop transplants may help heal the guts of older people.
Meet the Expert: Jason Korenblit, M.D., a board-certified gastroenterologist and digestive health expert for JustAnswer.
For the study, researchers gave mice antibiotics to change the gut bacteria of young and old mice. The scientists then transferred stool (a procedure known as fecal microbiota transfer) from young mice to old mice and vice versa (though the study did not say, oftentimes feces are transferred to the colon for this procedure). Next, researchers measured how well the swap worked by monitoring gene activity, cell division, and how well the gut healed after injury, including radiation damage. They also gave the mice specific bacteria, like Akkermansia muciniphila, a bacterium that is known for its potential in treating metabolic disease and an imbalanced gut, to see its impacts.
The study found that gut bacteria from young mice may restore the function of aging intestinal stem cells in older mice. So, when the mice with aging ICS received transplants from those of younger ones, their intestines healed faster and acted more like younger tissue. Researchers also transplanted old cells into young mice and found that they did not greatly negatively impact the young mice. The researchers identified that high levels of one specific bacterium, Akkermansia muciniphila, were linked to worse stem cell function in older mice, even though this bacterium is often thought of as “healthy” in other contexts.
How may poop transplants impact age-related gut changes?
“As we age, the gut lining renews itself more slowly,” explains Jason Korenblit, M.D., a board-certified gastroenterologist and digestive health expert for JustAnswer. Within the gut lining hide intestinal stem cells (ICS) that emerge every few days to replace old ones, he says. They are “essential for digestion, nutrient absorption, and protecting the gut barrier,” he adds. “If these stem cells don’t work well, the gut heals more slowly and becomes more vulnerable to injury and disease. Together, this leads to slower healing and a more fragile intestine.”
Though the study featured mice, the findings may indicate a potential for humans, too. The findings suggest that targeting the gut microbiome may help restore gut health in older adults, says Dr. Korenblit. “Instead of focusing only on the stem cells themselves, future treatments might adjust gut bacteria to improve the signals that keep stem cells working. This could lead to new therapies using tailored probiotics, microbiome-based drugs, or carefully designed microbiota transplants,” he adds.
Of course, these results were only demonstrated in mice, not humans. Fecal transplants are used in human medicine to treat infections; however, using them to rejuvenate the aging gut is still experimental, Dr. Korenblit notes. “Human biology is more complex, and what helps mice may not work the same way in people,” he concludes.
However, if future studies reveal a similar impact in humans, this approach could potentially help conditions linked to poor gut repair, such as age-related digestive problems, increased gut permeability, irritable bowel syndrome, slow recovery after intestinal injury, chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery, and possibly inflammatory conditions that worsen with age.
The bottom line
Though the study looks promising, more research is needed—and it’s not quite time to ask your doctor about a fecal transplant. “Aging of the gut is not [permanent],” says Dr. Korenblit. “The microbiome plays a powerful role in how well intestinal stem cells function, and changing gut bacteria can partially reverse age-related decline at least in animal models.” This highlights the need for personalized and age-specific approaches to microbiome-based therapies rather than one-size-fits-all solutions, he adds.
Read the full article here