Lombardy partner:
– Nicola Segata, IRCCS IEO
| Pathology of interest: | Primary clostridioides difficile infection |
| Area of research: | Antimicrobial resistance |
| Start date: | 15 February 2023 |
| End date: | 24 February 2026 |
| Funding: | € 500.000,00 |
| Project partners: | Rambam Health Care Campus- RHCC (Israel)Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS (Italy)University of Alberta (Canada)Imperial College London (UK)IRCCS IEO (Italy)University of Debrecen, ICU (Hungary)Lithuanian University (Lithuania) |
Primary Clostridioides difficile infection (pCDI) is a gastrointestinal infection that presents diarrhea, fever and abdominal pain and is often resistant to antibiotic therapy. pCDI is often a consequence of previous exposure to antibiotics that disrupt the balance of healthy microbes that reside in our guts. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), the introduction of a healthy microbial community from a healthy donor, has been shown to be safe and highly effective in patients who experience recurrence of CDI, but was not vigorously tested in primary infection. FMT can also fight other deleterious microbes that might reside in the gut. Since FMT contains live bacteria, it needs to be kept frozen until administration. We have developed a dry compound that does not need freezing (Lyo-FMT) and aim to assess its efficacy for pCDI. This easy-toadminister product will restore the healthy bacterial community, fight infection and reduce the use of antibiotics. If effective, this study will revolutionise the treatment of this worldwide distributed infection.