Fecal transplants have proven effective for treating a range of diseases, so this cannot be true. That we do not yet understand what is going on does not mean there is nothing going on.
> Fecal transplants have proven effective for treating a range of diseases
They can be very effective for C. diff infections, but beyond that it’s not as much of a wonder treatment as the initially hype suggested. There have been a lot of startups and researchers working on this space with very lackluster results (outside of C. diff, that is)
They are effective for a number of ailments you would expect and many you wouldn't. We are at the beginning of understanding these processes better. I wouldn't think we are at a point where we can look at specific results and making general statments.
To be fair, this is not inconsistent with the position of the article.
If the disease states are a result of pathogenic invasion, restoring the natural inhabitants of the gut by transplant and driving out the 'bad guys' by doing so is completely consistent.
Whether you call that 'doing nothing' is of course a different matter; it's a bit like explaining armor as 'doing nothing' because it just sits there and soaks up incoming physical damage!
They can be very effective for C. diff infections, but beyond that it’s not as much of a wonder treatment as the initially hype suggested. There have been a lot of startups and researchers working on this space with very lackluster results (outside of C. diff, that is)