New freeze-dried 'poo pills' could be the answer to obesity -
SCIENTISTS are set to test freeze-dried pills containing the faecal matter of healthy and lean donors in a bid to tackle the obesity crisis.
Twenty obese volunteers will be taking part in the research and each will be receiving capsules that include several grams of stool from slim donors.
The pills will be taken every week for six weeks without making any changes to their normal diet and exercise habits while researchers track any changes.
These health and weight recordings will be taken at three, six and 12 months, with the potential to continue further depending on the success of the trial.
Elaine Yu, a professor and clinical researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital is leading the unusual trial.
While speaking to technology website Ars Technica that she and colleagues are "cautiously optimistic" but admits "We have no idea what the result will be".
The faeces filled capsules are designed to replace a person's intestinal microbes with those from the healthy donor.
The method has been tested in a number of animal studies and some anecdotal data in humans and has proved effective.
Previously, researchers took the gut microbes from a set of twins, one slim, one obese, and transplanted them into two sets of microbe-free mice.
The mice were on the same diet but those who got the obese twin's microbes became plumper, while the mice who received the lean twin's microbes remained slim.
Read more -
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/6852866/New-freeze-dried-poo-pills-could-be-the-answer-to-obesity.html
SCIENTISTS are set to test freeze-dried pills containing the faecal matter of healthy and lean donors in a bid to tackle the obesity crisis.
Twenty obese volunteers will be taking part in the research and each will be receiving capsules that include several grams of stool from slim donors.
The pills will be taken every week for six weeks without making any changes to their normal diet and exercise habits while researchers track any changes.
These health and weight recordings will be taken at three, six and 12 months, with the potential to continue further depending on the success of the trial.
Elaine Yu, a professor and clinical researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital is leading the unusual trial.
While speaking to technology website Ars Technica that she and colleagues are "cautiously optimistic" but admits "We have no idea what the result will be".
The faeces filled capsules are designed to replace a person's intestinal microbes with those from the healthy donor.
The method has been tested in a number of animal studies and some anecdotal data in humans and has proved effective.
Previously, researchers took the gut microbes from a set of twins, one slim, one obese, and transplanted them into two sets of microbe-free mice.
The mice were on the same diet but those who got the obese twin's microbes became plumper, while the mice who received the lean twin's microbes remained slim.
Read more -
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/6852866/New-freeze-dried-poo-pills-could-be-the-answer-to-obesity.html
