A single treatment of donor bacteria shows promising clinical benefits as a temporary treatment for a chronic bowel condition in dogs.
Seven dogs with a chronic inflammatory condition of the gut, known as chronic enteropathy, received single faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from two healthy donor dogs, with clinical assessments conducted over a 90-day period.
The results suggest that many dogs experienced significant relief from symptoms, with benefits lasting for an average of 10 weeks.
This study, carried out by a clinical research team from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Hospital for Small Animals, suggests that FMT may be a practical and effective addition to the treatment options for chronic gut conditions in dogs.
Therapy option
Treatment options for chronic enteropathy in dogs, often compared to Crohn’s disease in humans, typically involve dietary changes, anti-inflammatory medications and, in some cases, immune-suppressing drugs.
However, FMT has emerged as a potential alternative, with the aim of restoring gut health by transferring faecal material from healthy donors into affected dogs via an enema.
The research team found that one treatment led to a notable improvement in clinical signs.
Promising results
While FMT has been explored in previous research, this study provides fresh insights into its long-term effects and practical application for veterinary medicine.
The research team used a clinical activity scale as a scoring system to assess disease severity in dogs. This scale measured symptoms such appetite, weight loss, vomiting and diarrhoea from very severe to very mild disease.
Before treatment, dogs had an average disease score of 8, indicating moderate to severe disease. One week after receiving the treatment, the score dropped to 3, and by day 30, it had fallen to 1.
However, in most cases, the improvements were not sustained beyond this period, indicating the need for repeated FMTs or other treatments to maintain long-term benefits.
FMT could be a viable short-term treatment for dogs with chronic enteropathy, despite its exact mechanism remaining unclear, researchers suggest.
Practice implications
The study also explored whether glycerol, a substance commonly used to preserve frozen samples, impacts FMT when used for freezing enemas.
Researchers found that using glycerol is not necessary to maintain FMT effectiveness, suggesting that frozen FMT samples can remain viable without glycerol, as long as they are used after a single thaw and not repeatedly frozen and thawed.
This insight is valuable for veterinary practitioners relying on frozen FMT for treatment, indicating that standard freezing methods without glycerol may be sufficient.
Future research may explore the use of repeated FMT treatments, advanced microbiota analysis, and studies on its use in other species such as cats.
This study was published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, supported by The Fiona and Ian Russell Seedcorn Fund for Companion Animal Research.