Chevy Chase Clinical Research facility is participating in a clinical study of a non-antibiotic therapy for treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (C-diff) that could revolutionize the treatment of this challenging gastrointestinal disease. C-diff affects primarily older adults and its symptoms range from a mild or debilitating diarrhea, to a life-threatening colitis. Approximately 700,000 people in the U.S. develop C-diff annually (nearly double since 2001), with more than 14,000 deaths every year.
Many people who take the typical treatment for active C-diff, antibiotics, often relapse and develop recurring infections. The only treatments available for these patients are more antibiotics or surgery, which have serious limitations. Growing research indicates patients with recurrent C-diff may have an imbalance in their intestinal flora that facilitates the disease process. RBX2660, a microbiota replacement therapy, may restore this balance and halt C-diff.