Could a stool transplant ease gut woes in scleroderma?
NCT ID NCT06827977
First seen Jul 08, 2026 · Last updated Jul 09, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether transplanting healthy gut bacteria can relieve constipation and bloating in people with systemic sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that often affects the digestive tract. Participants will receive the bacteria either as capsules or as a retention enema. The trial will monitor changes in gut bacteria diversity and symptom severity over several weeks.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- PRIM-DJ2727 (frozen or lyophilized fecal microbiota)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new way to manage stubborn digestive symptoms in people with systemic sclerosis.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase trial testing safety and trends, not proof of effectiveness. The treatment involves swallowing capsules or receiving an enema made from donor stool, which carries unknown infection risks.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 21 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Are seen in the UT Houston Scleroderma Center (UTHSC) * Meet 2013 American college of rheumatology (ACR)/European league against rheumatism (EULAR) criteria or CREST criteria for SSc * Meet Rome IV criteria for constipation and/or significant bloating * Subject willing to sign an informed consent form * Subject deemed likely to survive for ≥ 1 year after enrollment * Able to follow study procedure and follow-up * Sexually active male and female subjects of childbearing potential must agree to use an effective method of birth control during the treatment and follow-up period * Female subjects of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test in the 72 hours before the procedure * Subjects who agree to adhere to a stable diet for at least 4 weeks before joining the study and throughout the study * Subjects must have an attending physician who will provide non-transplant care for the subject Exclusion Criteria: * Subjects with constipation and/or significant bloating from causes not attributed to SSc as determined by the treating physician (e.g., inflammatory bowel disease, medication, significant diabetes, or hypothyroidism, etc.) * Subjects unwilling to stop taking probiotic supplements during the duration of the study * Subjects that have post-total or hemicolectomy or the presence of a colostomy * Subjects unable to tolerate microbiome transplant via enema for any reason or swallow capsules * Subjects requiring systemic antibiotic therapy 4 weeks before the study * If subjects are on immunosuppression, the immunosuppression dose should be stable for at least 4 weeks before study enrollment
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States
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