Doctor Tom Borody claims faecal transplants curing incurable diseases like Crohn's

Doctor Tom Borody claims faecal transplants curing incurable diseases like Crohn's

An Australian doctor claims he is curing incurable diseases using an all-natural waste product we usually flush away - human stool.

Professor Tom Borody has been championing the treatment, known as faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), for 25 years.

As modern science begins to appreciate the critical role gut bacteria plays in human health, his treatment of diseases including Crohn's and colitis, auto immune diseases and even neurological disease is provoking both criticism and excitement.

While some doctors regard faecal transplants as potentially dangerous, two of Australia's biggest teaching hospitals are embarking on a large national trial.

Professor Borody is at science's new frontier, manipulating the bacteria that live in the human gut.

"In terms of genetics there are 3.1 million genes. That's a hell of a crowd of individuals living in our colon," he said.

Bacterial cells far outnumber human cells in our bodies and bacteria experts includingCSIRO's chief research scientist, Dr David Topping, believe the world is at the edge of an extraordinary medical revolution that will come through the understanding of the so-called human microbiome.

"I think we're on the edge of something extraordinary. The attention has switched entirely to the large bowel bacterial population which we now know is absolutely critical to human health," Dr Topping said.

Professor Borody is not waiting for controlled clinical trials to treat a range of diseases.

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Doctor Tom Borody claims faecal transplants curing incurable diseases like Crohn's