Micro Biome Restorative Therapy / Mbrt

Over the past decade fecal microbiota transplants (FMT), also known as microbiome restorative therapy (MBRT) has become increasingly used in human and veterinary patients. The Animal Healing Center has been offering this technique for over five years and treated hundreds of patients with this minimally invasive infusion of normal microbiota from a healthy donor into the GI tract of the diseased pet, with the aim of restoring normal microflora, and thus resolving what in many cases has been chronic longstanding GI and skin disease.

What is the microbiome?

The microbiome is the collection of over 100 trillion organisms, mainly bacteria, viruses, and fungi that are present in the GI tract of humans and animals. When this ecosystem of gut bacteria is has a huge impact on host health.

What does the microbiome do?

When properly balanced the microbiome helps the immune system defend against pathogens or invaders. These “good bacteria” provide nutritional benefits and conjugate bile to aid in fat digestion. These good bacteria also have direct anti-inflammatory effects, regulate gut motility, and strengthen the intestinal barrier to allergens.

So then what is Dysbiosis?

Intestinal dysbiosis is the alteration of the microbiome or normal collection of GI bacteria, often caused by the overuse of antibiotics, drugs, chemicals, pesticides and vaccinations in dogs and cats, as well as other animals and humans.

Intestinal dysbiosis is deleterious to our pets’ health as the pathogenic (“bad”) bacteria often produce toxins. Also, lack of the appropriate healthy (“good”) bacteria means a reduction in all their anti-inflammatory benefits as well as the loss of their nutrient production, fat digestion, and immune assistance.

Cases of chronic GI disease such as irritable bowel, chronic diarrhea; obesity, or weight loss; and chronic giardia can often be linked to intestinal dysbiosis. In addition, allergies and chronic skin disease, and even mental and emotional issues can all be tied to dysbiosis.

How would I know if my pets’ have an intestinal dysbiosis?

With the help of Texas A&M veterinary school’s GI Lab, Animal Healing Center now offers a stool test called a Dysbiosis Index. This test requires 5 grams of fresh stool. This test uses a PCR panel that quantifies (counts) the abundance of major bacterial groups and summarizes them with a single number. A result below the number zero indicates your pet has a healthy collection of the gut bacterium, but a positive number indicates an intestinal dysbiosis.

Now What?

Normalization of the GI microbiome can be achieved to some extent by the administration of pre and probiotics, but the best way to get the full complement of microflora is to inoculate the guts of a dysbiotic patient with poop from a healthy dog.

Huh?

That’s correct. Over the past decade fecal microbiota transplants (FMT), also known as microbiome restorative therapy (MBRT) has become increasingly used in human and veterinary patients. The Animal Healing Center has been offering this technique for over five years and treated hundreds of patients with this minimally invasive infusion of normal microbiota from a healthy donor into the GI tract of the diseased pet, with the aim of restoring normal microflora, and thus resolving what in many cases has been chronic longstanding GI and skin disease.

This procedure is not often used alone, but in combination with other holistic lifestyle changes, it goes a long way to restoring your pets’ health.