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Researchers from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) and Center for Systems Neuroscience in Hannover, Germany have discovered that fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) can reduce negative mental health symptoms in dogs with epilepsy—especially in dogs with a version of epilepsy that is resistant to drugs.

The work is published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.

FMT is a non-invasive treatment delivered via enema that has become popular in human medicine over the last two decades thanks to increased scientific understanding of the gut microbiome—the community of bacteria living in the gut that helps regulate healthy digestion.

Scientists have also discovered evidence that the gut microbiome may play an even bigger role, influencing other parts of the body—including the brain in what is called the gut-brain axis. Veterinary science experts have also begun studying this relationship with regards to animal health.

In their recent study, the researchers treated nine dogs with drug-resistant epilepsy—a type of epilepsy that does not respond to the usual drug therapies and affects approximately two-thirds of dogs with epilepsy. According to the study, dogs with this version of the disease tend to experience more ADHD- and anxiety-type symptoms than other dogs with epilepsy.

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