Introduction: Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) and corticosteroids (CS) are effective induction therapies for pediatric Crohn’s Disease (CD). CS are also therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC). Host–microbe interactions may be able to explain the effectiveness of these treatments. This is the first prospective study to longitudinally characterize compositional changes in the bacterial community structure of pediatric UC and CD patients receiving EEN or CS induction therapy. Methods: Patients with diagnoses of CD or UC were recruited from McMaster Children’s Hospital (Hamilton, Canada). Fecal samples were collected from participants aged 5–18 years old undergoing 8 weeks of induction therapy with EEN or CS. Fecal samples were submitted for 16S rRNA sequencing. The Shannon diversity index and the relative abundance of specific bacterial taxa were compared using a linear mixed model. Results: The clustering of microbiota was the highest between patients who achieved remission compared to patients still showing active disease (p = 0.029); this effect was independent of the diagnosis or treatment type. All patients showed a significant increase in Shannon diversity over the 8 weeks of treatment. By week 2, a significant difference was seen in Shannon diversity between patients who would go on to achieve remission and those who would not. Conclusion: The gut microbiota of pediatric UC and CD patients was most influenced by patients’ success or failure to achieve remission and was largely independent of the choice of treatment or disease type. Significant differences in Shannon diversity indices occurred as early as week 2 between patients who went on to achieve remission and those who continued to have active disease.

Background Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a promising experimental therapy for ulcerative colitis (UC), yet patient acceptance remains poorly understood. Aims The aim of this study was to explore perceptions and experiences of adult patients who received FMT for UC. Methods This study used a qualitative descriptive design with thematic content analysis. Patients who were approached for enrollment in a clinical trial (NCT02606032) were invited to participate in face-to-face semistructured interviews. Two groups were interviewed: those who chose to pursue FMT and those who declined FMT. Non-FMT patients were interviewed once; FMT patients were interviewed twice at pre- and post-treatment. Results Nine FMT patients (78% female, average age 46.7 years old) and eight non-FMT patients (50% female, average age 39.5 years old) were enrolled. Pretreatment themes included FMT as a natural therapy, external barriers to pursuing FMT, concerns with FMT and factors influencing the decision to pursue FMT. While both groups generally perceived FMT as a natural therapy, pre-FMT patients showed greater acceptance of alternative medicine. Both groups demonstrated poor understanding and similar initial concerns with product cleanliness. Pre-FMT patients were motivated to pursue FMT by feelings of last resort. Post-FMT themes included therapeutic impact of FMT and psychosocial impact of FMT. Post-FMT patients reported overall satisfaction and a unanimous preference for FMT over conventional medications. Conclusion This is the first study to assess adult patient perceptions and real-life experiences with FMT for the treatment of UC. By improving patient education, we may achieve greater acceptance of FMT.

Long-term treatment of rats with the D2/D3 dopamine agonist quinpirole induces compulsive checking (proposed as animal model of obsessive-compulsive disorder) and locomotor sensitization. The mechanisms by which long-term use of quinpirole produces those behavioral transformations are not known. Here we examined whether changes in gut microbiota play a role in these behavioral phenomena, by monitoring the development of compulsive checking and locomotor sensitization at the same time as measuring the response of gut microbiota to chronic quinpirole injections. Two groups of rats received nine injections of saline (n=16) or quinpirole (n=15; 0.25 mg/kg), at weekly intervals for the first 5 weeks and then two injections per week until the end of treatment. After each injection, rats were placed on a large open field for 55 min, and their behavior was video recorded for subsequent analysis. Fecal matter was collected after each trial and frozen for bacterial community profiling of the 16S rRNA gene, using paired-end reads of the V3 region. The results indicated that the induction of locomotor sensitization and compulsive checking was accompanied by changes in several communities of bacteria belonging to the order Clostridiales (class Clostridia, phylum Firmicutes), and predominantly in Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae families of bacteria. It is suggested that changes in these microbes may serve to support the energy use requirements of compulsive checking and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

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