‘Poop Pills’ Show Promise for Severe Peanut Allergy, Early Research Shows

elzauer/Moment/Getty Images A preliminary study found that “poop pills” — oral fecal microbiome transplantation (FMT) — increased tolerance to peanuts in some adults with a peanut allergy. Researchers found similar results in mice, with a certain type of gut bacteria playing a key role. While the findings are promising for future trials, it’s too soon to recommend FMT as a treatment for peanut allergy. A small clinical trial suggests that fecal microbiome transplantation (FMT), or “poop pills,” may increase peanut tolerance in adults with peanut allergies. The research, published on August 5 in Science Translational Medicine, investigated whether receiving a fecal transplant from a healthy donor could reduce the severity of peanut allergy. Some participants found that their tolerance to peanuts increased. In an animal model, researchers found that mice receiving FMT from the human participants were also protected against the allergy. “This landmark study was the first to demonstrate that a microbiome-based therapy may improve food allergy in people while also revealing how gut bacteria, their metabolites, and the immune system work together to i…