Posted: October 14th, 2007 - 10:37am by Doug Powell

The Scotsman is reporting that trials in a Scottish hospital have shown patients suffering from Clostridium difficile infections can be cured using human faeces -- a 'donor stool' administered via a tube through the nose into their stomach.

Clostridium difficile is a particular problem among patients who have been prescribed strong antibiotics as they also wipe out the so-called 'friendly' disease-fighting bacteria in the intestine. Faecal 'transplants', as they are known, are believed to restore the bacteria to levels at which they help the recovery process.

Doctors involved in the trials admit there are "obvious aesthetic problems" in the treatment, which involves patients ingesting a liquidised sample of faeces from a partner or close relative.

Despite the positive results, doctors stress that they still regard the faecal transplant as a "last resort" because it is cumbersome and the idea of is unpleasant.

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