Luc Sterkman's scientific contributions

... The absence of detectable probiotic strains found here at day 28, during the recovery phase of the study, provides evidence of colonization resistance mediated by the commensal colonic microflora. Such transient colonization of the intestine is reassuring that probiotics can be provided for short-term defined interventions without concerns arising from the impact of more protracted changes in the composition and functions of the gut microbiota (Rouanet et al., 2020). Transient gut colonization of preterm infants supplemented with the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri, strain DSM 17938 has been reported, but there was no detectable impact on gut microbial diversity at two years of age (Marti et al., 2021). ...

... The U.K. change of perspective reflects the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the regulatory framework for faecal microbiota, considering that little is known about the active component and intrinsic mechanism of the action of FMT. The classification as a drug implies a strict monitoring of microbiota processing since the stool would be industrially manufactured in a batch-wise process to be placed on the market [15]. However, a stool is not a standardized mixture of bacteria, and the composition of a stool by itself is highly heterogeneous, donor-specific, and associated with significant day-to-day variability, even from a single individual [14,16]. ...