An Australian man with severe bipolar disorder has weaned himself off psychotropic drugs after undergoing faecal transplant, according to an unusual case study.

In the second-ever documented report of its kind, psychiatrists from UNSW Sydney say this patient’s experience suggests that faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) could be a viable option for treatment-resistant cases.

“For a man who had required extensive and extended medications to have his bipolar condition largely remit following FMT with no need for maintenance medication, such a case is quite striking,” the clinicians reported.

Writing in Bipolar Disorders, Professor Gordon Parker and colleagues provided a detailed account of the 28-year-old male patient who began experiencing severe anxiety and depressive episodes during his childhood.