Overview
- A Nature Microbiology paper published January 7 by Mass General Brigham with UC San Diego mapped ethanol-producing pathways linked to auto-brewery syndrome.
- Researchers studied 22 patients, 21 household partners, and 22 controls, finding that patient stool during flare-ups generated far more ethanol than other samples.
- Several bacteria, including Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, were implicated alongside elevated fermentation enzymes during symptomatic periods.
- One tracked patient remained symptom-free for more than 16 months after a second fecal microbiota transplant that used a different antibiotic pretreatment.
- Investigators say a fecal transplant study in ABS is underway, while potential stool-based diagnostics and targeted therapies still require broader validation.