What caused a woman with different bacterial infections to become obese? It could be a combination of many things, including antibiotics and fecal transplants.
A hospital in Newport, Rhode Island, is now accepting fecal transplants from "lean" donors after one of the procedures is believed to have caused a woman to become obese.
A medical report shared the story of a woman, 34, who was initially diagnosed with a vaginal infection, which was then treated by an antibiotic. However, she developed another infection, this time C. difficile, which can be life threatening when not treated. Annually, at least 10,000 people are expected to die from it.
Treating C. difficile can be tricky since patients are normally given antibiotics, but antibiotics can also disrupt the gut microbiome, which can then worsen the condition.
Later, she was diagnosed with having H. pylori bacteria, which the doctors treated with another antibiotic. Since her condition didn't improve, they decided to conduct a fecal transplant.
A fecal transplant is a novel procedure of transplanting the excreta of a donor in the hopes of balancing the gut flora of the recipient. In her case, her donor was her 16-year-old daughter, who was obese.
While the older woman's condition improved, eventually restoring the bowel's microbiome, she interestingly also became obese herself for the first time in her life.
Antibiotics are medications that are meant to target harmful bacteria, yet previous studies have shown how they can also "disturb" the natural microbial environment of the body, particularly the gut.
One of these studies, by Asociacion RUVID, antibiotics can change the metabolic and microbial patterns in the gut, in which the biodiversity becomes less pronounced. Bacteria such as H. pylori have also been associated with weight gain. However, it also mentions that the gut flora has the ability to restore itself after antibiotic treatment.
On the other hand, experts of fecal transplants are now suggesting conducting a thorough screening of donors, including measuring their body mass index (BMI).
In the end, the notes mentioned that her weight gain may be more than antibiotics and fecal transplants, as genetics can also play a huge role.