Calgary researchers hoping poop pills prove positive for mental health

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What might seem stomach-turning could prove a key to better mental health, say University of Calgary researchers.

The scientists have embarked on a study to determine if fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) using so-called poop pills can reduce the effects of depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

In a U of C lab, technicians on Tuesday prepared a brown liquid in a kitchen mixer, then squeezed the substance into white and blue capsules that’ll be served to study participants that researchers are seeking to recruit.

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“Our gut bugs are part of us — they help us sleep, digest food and provide us with vitamins, and seem to have a connection with how our brains work,” said Dr. Thomas Louie, a clinical medicine professor who’s been working with FMT, particularly in treating C. difficile infections, the most common hospital-borne illness.

Early studies suggest altering the microbiome in the stomach can improve signalling between the gut and the brain, said Louie and study leader Dr. Valerie Taylor.

“Underlying our whole research is the concept that we believe the gut-brain axis impacts mental illness and that this is a very viable target for treatment — that mental illness is not just a brain disease, that it actually has strong links to your gastrointestinal system,” said Taylor, department head of psychiatry at the U of C.

There’s evidence to suggest the gut microbiome is different among those with mental illness, said Taylor, adding the U of C efforts will be unique in determining how FMT could play a therapeutic role to possibly displace other treatments.

“We’re one of the first groups that moved into a therapeutic space in that we are actually seeing if a particular intervention can cause the same benefits without the side-effects we see with antidepressants,” said Taylor.

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“We think a more comprehensive approach and actually changing that bacteria and repopulating it from healthy donors will actually change outputs.”

Participants in the major depressive disorder (MDD) study will undertake a 13-week program, while those in the OCD side will undergo a four-month regimen, with both engaged in followup for a year, said Taylor.

“That is actually a significant followup for a psychiatric treatment study — normally most studies don’t follow people for an extended period of time but we thought it was really important to understand if the changes are maintained and what do the bacteria do?” she said.

“What we’re hoping is we can identify the bacteria that are associated with illness and wellness, and create something more specific to mental illness . . . more akin to a probiotic.”

She said the fecal aspect of the study shouldn’t lead to a reluctance in participants coming forward because those needing treatment already suspect the connection between gut and brain.

“This resonates with them — many people came to (a colonoscopy study) stating that they’ve been saying for years their stomach and brain are linked — when they get depressed they started to get stomach discomfort . . . and were looking for someone to take them seriously,” said Taylor.

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“For sure, for some there’s an ‘ick’ factor, but I think for many they haven’t responded to conventional treatments, they feel so rotten and so desperate, and this really makes sense to them.”

Those donating stool samples to the study must be healthy and are generally in their 20s, with providers being whittled down from hundreds to several people, said Louie.

“Each donation is unique — microbes shift day to day, each bowel movement is unique but the range of bacteria is technically similar,” he said, adding donors’ poop undergoes strict testing before being used in research.

The study is seeking 25 participants for the MDD study and 15 for the OCD research, who should feel liberated by any potty humour related to the work, said Taylor.

“We all want to release our inner five-year-old and this just gives you permission,” she said.

Anyone interested in the study or seeking more information can email the Taylor lab at [email protected]

[email protected]

X: @BillKaufmannjrn

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