Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Advertisement

Nature Communications
  • View all journals
  • Search
  • My Account Login
  • Content Explore content
  • About the journal
  • Publish with us
  • Sign up for alerts
  • RSS feed
  1. nature
  2. nature communications
  3. articles
  4. article
Impact of a single fecal microbiome transplantation in adult women with anorexia nervosa: an open-label feasibility pilot trial
Download PDF
Download PDF
  • Article
  • Open access
  • Published: 14 January 2026

Impact of a single fecal microbiome transplantation in adult women with anorexia nervosa: an open-label feasibility pilot trial

  • Farhad M. Panah1,
  • René Klinkby Støving2,
  • Magnus Sjögren3,
  • Nadia Micali  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-5571-22734,5,
  • Sina Maschek1,
  • Kia Daniela Reis  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-9313-44941,
  • Hengameh Chloé Mirsepasi-Lauridsen6,7,8,
  • Andreas Munk Petersen  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-0531-05536,9,10,
  • Dennis Sandris Nielsen  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8121-11141,
  • Morten Helms8,
  • Morten Arendt Rasmussen  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-7431-52061,11 &
  • …
  • Kenneth Klingenberg Barfod  ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3336-69441 

Nature Communications , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

  • 3035 Accesses

  • 18 Altmetric

  • Metrics details

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Clinical microbiology
  • Microbiota

Abstract

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe mental disorder characterized by restrictive eating and disturbance in the way one’s body weight or shape is experienced, often accompanied by depression and anxiety. Current evidence-based treatments for AN have limited efficacy, with less than half of the patients achieving full recovery in long-term follow-up studies. Recent findings have identified gut microbiota (GM) dysbiosis as a potential contributor to AN pathology through the gut-brain axis. This open-label, non-randomized, feasibility trial (Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT05834010) evaluated the feasibility of utilizing fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to modify the GM and GM-associated signaling in females with AN and to examine biological effects following a single FMT procedure. Adult female participants diagnosed with AN were recruited. FMT was administered either orally via capsules or as rectal enema. Stool and blood samples were collected pre- and one week post-FMT to assess GM composition, hormonal changes, and biomarkers. Primary endpoints: Feasibility of FMT in individuals with AN and preferred route of FMT. Secondary endpoints: A single FMT treatment can alter GM composition in individuals with AN short term and relevant gut brain signaling in serum. 18/22 participants (81%) completed FMT and sampling and 19/22 participants chose oral capsules, with no serious adverse effects reported. GM analysis showed significant shifts toward donor composition 1-week post-FMT, with improved stool consistency. No significant changes were observed in psychopathology measures or appetite-related biomarkers. Oral FMT is a feasible intervention for adult women with AN, leading to changes in GM profile. Future studies should focus on placebo-controlled trials to assess the efficacy of repeated oral treatments and explore long-term effects on GM, appetite, body weight, sex hormones, disorder-specific symptoms, and overall well-being

Similar content being viewed by others

Encapsulated faecal microbiota transfer in young women with anorexia nervosa: an open-label feasibility pilot trial

Article Open access 14 December 2025

Microbiome and metabolic disruption in acute vs. severe and enduring anorexia nervosa

Article Open access 26 November 2025

The gut microbiota contributes to the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa in humans and mice

Article Open access 17 April 2023

Data availability

The metagenomic sequencing data generated in this study have been deposited in the NCBI Sequence Read Archive under accession number PRJNA1184021. De-identified biological data and study materials are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request for up to five years after publication. The study protocol and analytic code are provided in the Supplementary Files. Individual participant data cannot be shared due to the Danish Data Protection Act, which supplements the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but aggregated data are available as described or upon request. All study documents and materials are stored in accordance with the Act on Processing of Personal Data and relevant provisions of the Danish Health Act governing biobanks. Participants were informed of these protections during the consent process. After analyses, biological samples will be stored in a biobank for 15 years.

Code availability

All custom R scripts used for data processing, statistical analyses, and figure generation (Supplementary data 2) are publicly available at https://github.com/farhadm1990/fmt_trial. A DOI-minted archive of the analysis workflow is available on Zenodo (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17949926).

References

  1. Auger, N. et al. Anorexia nervosa and the long-term risk of mortality in women. World Psychiatry 20, 448–449 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Eddy, K. T. et al. Recovery from anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa at 22-Year Follow-Up. J. Clin. Psychiatry 78, 184–189 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Demmler, J. C., Brophy, S. T., Marchant, A., John, A. & Tan, J. O. A. Shining the light on eating disorders, incidence, prognosis and profiling of patients in primary and secondary care: national data linkage study. Br. J. Psychiatry 216, 105–112 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Milano, W. et al. The pharmacological options in the treatment of eating disorders. ISRN Pharm. 2013, 352865 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Bulik, C. M. The challenges of treating anorexia nervosa. Lancet 383, 105–106 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Moskowitz, L. & Weiselberg, E. Anorexia nervosa/atypical anorexia nervosa. Curr. Probl. Pediatr. Adolesc. Health Care 47, 70–84 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Watson, H. J. et al. Common genetic variation and age of onset of anorexia nervosa. Biol. Psychiatry Glob. Open Sci. 2, 368–378 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Meijsen, J. et al. Quantifying the relative importance of genetics and environment on the comorbidity between mental and cardiometabolic disorders using 17 million Scandinavians. Nat. Commun. 15, 5064 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Støving, R. K. MECHANISMS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: Anorexia nervosa and endocrinology: a clinical update. Eur. J. Endocrinol. 180, R9–r27 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Bulik, C. M., Carroll, I. M. & Mehler, P. Reframing anorexia nervosa as a metabo-psychiatric disorder. Trends Endocrinol. Metab. 32, 752–761 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Bäckhed, F., Ley, R. E., Sonnenburg, J. L., Peterson, D. A. & Gordon, J. I. Host-bacterial mutualism in the human intestine. Science 307, 1915–1920 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Sekirov, I., Russell, S. L., Antunes, L. C. M. & Finlay, B. B. Gut microbiota in health and disease. Physiological Rev. 90, 859–904 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Morita, C. et al. Gut dysbiosis in patients with anorexia nervosa. PloS one 10, e0145274 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Prochazkova, P. et al. The intestinal microbiota and metabolites in patients with anorexia nervosa. Gut microbes 13, 1–25 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Monteleone, A. M. et al. Multi-omics data integration in anorexia nervosa patients before and after weight regain: A microbiome-metabolomics investigation. Clin. Nutr. (Edinb., Scotl.) 40, 1137–1146 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Cost, J., Krantz, M. J. & Mehler, P. S. Medical complications of anorexia nervosa. Cleve Clin. J. Med 87, 361–366 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Kamal, N. et al. Delayed gastrointestinal transit times in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Gastroenterology 101, 1320–1324 (1991).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Mack, I. et al. Weight gain in anorexia nervosa does not ameliorate the faecal microbiota, branched chain fatty acid profiles, and gastrointestinal complaints. Sci. Rep. 6, 26752 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Di Lodovico, L. et al. Anorexia nervosa and gut microbiota: A systematic review and quantitative synthesis of pooled microbiological data. Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry 106, 110114 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Zhao, W., Kodancha, P. & Das, S. Gut Microbiome Changes in Anorexia Nervosa: A Comprehensive Review. Pathophysiology 31, 68–88 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  21. Miquel, S. et al. Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and human intestinal health. Curr. Opin. Microbiol 16, 255–261 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Armougom, F., Henry, M., Vialettes, B., Raccah, D. & Raoult, D. Monitoring bacterial community of human gut microbiota reveals an increase in Lactobacillus in obese patients and Methanogens in anorexic patients. PloS one 4, e7125 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Prochazkova, P. et al. Microbiota, Microbial Metabolites, and Barrier Function in A Patient with Anorexia Nervosa after Fecal Microbiota Transplantation. Microorganisms 7 https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms7090338 (2019).

  24. de Clercq, N. C., Frissen, M. N., Davids, M., Groen, A. K. & Nieuwdorp, M. Weight Gain after Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in a Patient with Recurrent Underweight following Clinical Recovery from Anorexia Nervosa. Psychother Psychosom, 1-3 https://doi.org/10.1159/000495044 (2019).

  25. Baunwall, S. M. D. et al. The use of Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) in Europe: A Europe-wide survey. Lancet Reg. Health Eur. 9, 100181 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  26. Zipursky, J. S., Sidorsky, T. I., Freedman, C. A., Sidorsky, M. N. & Kirkland, K. B. Patient attitudes toward the use of fecal microbiota transplantation in the treatment of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. Clin. Infect. Dis. 55, 1652–1658 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Svensson, C. K. et al. The Efficacy of Faecal Microbiota Transplant and Rectal Bacteriotherapy in Patients with Recurrent Clostridioides difficile Infection: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Cells 11 https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11203272 (2022).

  28. Cold, F., Svensson, C. K., Petersen, A. M., Hansen, L. H. & Helms, M. Long-Term Safety Following Faecal Microbiota Transplantation as a Treatment for Recurrent Clostridioides difficile Infection Compared with Patients Treated with a Fixed Bacterial Mixture: Results from a Retrospective Cohort Study. Cells 11 https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11030435 (2022).

  29. Hu, S. et al. Gut microbial beta-glucuronidase: a vital regulator in female estrogen metabolism. Gut microbes 15, 2236749 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Lewis, S. J. & Heaton, K. W. Stool form scale as a useful guide to intestinal transit time. Scand. J. Gastroenterol. 32, 920–924 (1997).

    Google Scholar 

  31. Carpinelli, L., Savarese, G., Pascale, B., Milano, W. D. & Iovino, P. Gut-Brain Interaction Disorders and Anorexia Nervosa: Psychopathological Asset, Disgust, and Gastrointestinal Symptoms. Nutrients 15 https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15112501 (2023).

  32. Reed, K. K. et al. Using bomb calorimetry to investigate intestinal energy harvest in anorexia nervosa: preliminary findings on stool calorie loss. Int. J. Eat. Disord. 58, 440–445 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  33. Boekhorst, J. et al. Stool energy density is positively correlated to intestinal transit time and related to microbial enterotypes. Microbiome 10, 223 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  34. Roager, H. M. et al. Colonic transit time is related to bacterial metabolism and mucosal turnover in the gut. Nat. Microbiol 1, 16093 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  35. Keshteli, A. H., Millan, B. & Madsen, K. L. Pretreatment with antibiotics may enhance the efficacy of fecal microbiota transplantation in ulcerative colitis: a meta-analysis. Mucosal Immunol. 10, 565–566 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  36. Lundberg, R. Humanizing the gut microbiota of mice: Opportunities and challenges. Lab. Anim. 53, 244–251 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  37. Podlesny, D. et al. Identification of clinical and ecological determinants of strain engraftment after fecal microbiota transplantation using metagenomics. Cell Rep. Med 3, 100711 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  38. Lee, J. Y., Kim, Y., Kim, J. & Kim, J. K. Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: Indications, Methods, and Challenges. J Microbiol https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-024-00184-3 (2024).

  39. Wilson, B. C. et al. An open-label pilot trial of faecal microbiome transfer to restore the gut microbiome in anorexia nervosa: protocol. BMJ Open 13, e070616 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  40. David, L. A. et al. Diet rapidly and reproducibly alters the human gut microbiome. Nature 505, 559–563 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  41. Wu, G. D. et al. Linking long-term dietary patterns with gut microbial enterotypes. Science 334, 105–108 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  42. Fan, Y. et al. The gut microbiota contributes to the pathogenesis of anorexia nervosa in humans and mice. Nat. Microbiol 8, 787–802 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  43. Ai, D. et al. Identifying Gut Microbiota Associated With Colorectal Cancer Using a Zero-Inflated Lognormal Model. Front Microbiol 10, 826 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  44. Specht, H. E. et al. Lower serum levels of IL-1β and IL-6 cytokines in adolescents with anorexia nervosa and their association with gut microbiota in a longitudinal study. Front Psychiatry 13, 920665 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  45. Schulz, N. et al. Gut microbiota alteration in adolescent anorexia nervosa does not normalize with short-term weight restoration. Int. J. Eat. Disord. 54, 969–980 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  46. Hanachi, M. et al. Altered host-gut microbes symbiosis in severely malnourished anorexia nervosa (AN) patients undergoing enteral nutrition: An explicative factor of functional intestinal disorders? Clin. Nutr. (Edinb., Scotl.) 38, 2304–2310 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  47. Kleiman, S. C. et al. The Intestinal Microbiota in Acute Anorexia Nervosa and During Renourishment: Relationship to Depression, Anxiety, and Eating Disorder Psychopathology. Psychosom. Med. 77, 969–981 (2015).

    Google Scholar 

  48. Pan, R. et al. Crosstalk between the Gut Microbiome and Colonic Motility in Chronic Constipation: Potential Mechanisms and Microbiota Modulation. Nutrients 14 https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14183704 (2022).

  49. Guo, F. et al. Gut microbiota and inflammatory factor characteristics in major depressive disorder patients with anorexia. BMC Psychiatry 24, 334 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  50. Suriano, F. et al. Novel insights into the genetically obese (ob/ob) and diabetic (db/db) mice: two sides of the same coin. Microbiome 9, 147 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  51. Mörkl, S. et al. Gut microbiota and body composition in anorexia nervosa inpatients in comparison to athletes, overweight, obese, and normal weight controls. Int. J. Eat. Disord. 50, 1421–1431 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  52. Wang, X. et al. Donor age and body weight determine the effects of fecal microbiota transplantation on growth performance, and fecal microbiota development in recipient pigs. J. Anim. Sci. Biotechnol. 13, 49 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  53. Maschek, S. et al. Investigating fecal microbiota transplants from individuals with anorexia nervosa in antibiotic-treated mice using a cross-over study design. J. Eat. Disord. 13, 82 (2025).

    Google Scholar 

  54. Walsh, J. et al. Impact of host and environmental factors on β-glucuronidase enzymatic activity: implications for gastrointestinal serotonin. Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 318, G816–g826 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  55. Spiseforstyrrelser. Anbefalinger for organisation og behandling. ISBN 87-7676-257-2. (2005).

  56. BUP nationale retningslinjer.

  57. Passi, V. A., Bryson, S. W. & Lock, J. Assessment of eating disorders in adolescents with anorexia nervosa: self-report questionnaire versus interview. Int. J. Eat. Disord. 33, 45–54 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  58. American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th edn. 5.ed edn, (American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., 2013).

  59. Baunwall, S. M. D. et al. Danish national guideline for the treatment of Clostridioides difficile infection and use of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT). Scand. J. Gastroenterol. 56, 1056–1077 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  60. Rode, A. A., Bytzer, P., Pedersen, O. B. & Engberg, J. Establishing a donor stool bank for faecal microbiota transplantation: methods and feasibility. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol Infect. Dis. 38, 1837–1847 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  61. “Lauridsen, H. C. Capsule Comprising a Faecal Composition. International Patent Publication Number WO 2021/130182A1, 1 July 2021. Available online: https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2021130182 (accessed on 10 October 2022). WO 2024/141422”.

  62. Rode, A. A. et al. Randomised clinical trial: a 12-strain bacterial mixture versus faecal microbiota transplantation versus vancomycin for recurrent Clostridioides difficile infections. Aliment Pharm. Ther. 53, 999–1009 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  63. Clausen, L., Rosenvinge, J. H., Friborg, O. & Rokkedal, K. Validating the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3): A Comparison Between 561 Female Eating Disorders Patients and 878 Females from the General Population. J. Psychopathol. Behav. Assess. 33, 101–110 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  64. Winkler, L. A. et al. Validating the Danish version of the Eating Disorder Quality of Life Scale (EDQLS) in anorexia nervosa. Eat. Weight Disord. 27, 1717–1728 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  65. Winkler, L. A. et al. Explanatory Factors for Disease-Specific Health-Related Quality of Life in Women with Anorexia Nervosa. J Clin Med 10 https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm10081592 (2021).

  66. Sjögren, M. & Støving, R. K. Anorexia Nervosa: Reduction in Depression during Inpatient Treatment Is Closely Related to Reduction in Eating Disorder Psychopathology. J Pers Med 12 https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm12050682 (2022).

  67. Eskild-Jensen, M., Støving, R. K., Flindt, C. F. & Sjogren, M. Comorbid depression as a negative predictor of weight gain during treatment of anorexia nervosa: A systematic scoping review. Eur. Eat. Disord. Rev.: J. Eat. Disord. Assoc. 28, 605–619 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Dr. Jitka Stilund Hansen, who was an integral part of the ideation process. Lundbeck Foundation (LF-Experiment, R370-2021-863, KKB) funded this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Copenhagen, Department of Food Science, Section for Food Microbiology, Gut Health, and Fermentation, Rolighedsvej 26, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Farhad M. Panah, Sina Maschek, Kia Daniela Reis, Dennis Sandris Nielsen, Morten Arendt Rasmussen & Kenneth Klingenberg Barfod

  2. Odense University Hospital, Department of Clinical Research, Research unit of Psychiatry, Odense C, Denmark

    René Klinkby Støving

  3. National highly Specialized care severe Eating disorders, Sundsvall Regional Hospital, Institute for Clinical Science, Umeå University, Sundsvall, Sweden

    Magnus Sjögren

  4. Center for Eating and Feeding Disorder Research, Mental Health Center Ballerup, Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Ballerup, Denmark

    Nadia Micali

  5. Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom

    Nadia Micali

  6. Gastro Unit, Medical Division, Copenhagen University Hospital – Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark

    Hengameh Chloé Mirsepasi-Lauridsen & Andreas Munk Petersen

  7. University of Copenhagen, Department of Public Health, Research Unit for General Practice, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Hengameh Chloé Mirsepasi-Lauridsen

  8. Department of Infectious Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital – Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark

    Hengameh Chloé Mirsepasi-Lauridsen & Morten Helms

  9. Department of Clinical Microbiology, Copenhagen University Hospital – Amager and Hvidovre, Hvidovre, Denmark

    Andreas Munk Petersen

  10. Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences – Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Andreas Munk Petersen

  11. Copenhagen Studies on Asthma in Childhood, University Hospital Herlev – Gentofte, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Morten Arendt Rasmussen

Authors
  1. Farhad M. Panah
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. René Klinkby Støving
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Magnus Sjögren
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Nadia Micali
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Sina Maschek
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kia Daniela Reis
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Hengameh Chloé Mirsepasi-Lauridsen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Andreas Munk Petersen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Dennis Sandris Nielsen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Morten Helms
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Morten Arendt Rasmussen
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Kenneth Klingenberg Barfod
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization: KKB, MS. Methodology: KKB, HCML,KDR, DSN, MH, FMP. Investigation: RKS, SM, KDR, MH, NM, MAR. Visualization: FMP, MAR. Funding acquisition: KKB, MS. Project administration: KKB. Supervision: KKB. Writing – original draft: FMP, KKB. Writing – review & editing: All authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kenneth Klingenberg Barfod.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

FMP, RKS, MS, MH, DSN, AMP, SM, KR, MAR, KKB declare no competing interests. HCML declares two international patents: WO 2021/130182 A1 and WO 2024/141422. NM is associate editor for European Eating Disorders review and BJPsych Open and funded by Laureate Grant Award from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (Grant No: NNF22OC0071010).

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Communications thanks the anonymous reviewers for their contribution to the peer review of this work. A peer review file is available.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information

Description of Additional Supplementary Files

Supplementary Data 1

Supplementary Data 2

Reporting summary

Study Protocol

Transparent Peer Review file

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Panah, F.M., Støving, R.K., Sjögren, M. et al. Impact of a single fecal microbiome transplantation in adult women with anorexia nervosa: an open-label feasibility pilot trial. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68455-8

Download citation

  • Received: 24 March 2025

  • Accepted: 05 January 2026

  • Published: 14 January 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-68455-8

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Download PDF

Associated content

Collection

The Clinical Microbiome

Advertisement

Explore content

  • Research articles
  • Reviews & Analysis
  • News & Comment
  • Videos
  • Collections
  • Subjects
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Sign up for alerts
  • RSS feed

About the journal

  • Aims & Scope
  • Editors
  • Journal Information
  • Open Access Fees and Funding
  • Calls for Papers
  • Editorial Values Statement
  • Journal Metrics
  • Editors' Highlights
  • Contact
  • Editorial policies
  • Top Articles

Publish with us

  • For authors
  • For Reviewers
  • Language editing services
  • Open access funding
  • Submit manuscript

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

  • Explore articles by subject
  • Find a job
  • Guide to authors
  • Editorial policies

Nature Communications (Nat Commun)

ISSN 2041-1723 (online)

nature.com sitemap

About Nature Portfolio

  • About us
  • Press releases
  • Press office
  • Contact us

Discover content

  • Journals A-Z
  • Articles by subject
  • protocols.io
  • Nature Index

Publishing policies

  • Nature portfolio policies
  • Open access

Author & Researcher services

  • Reprints & permissions
  • Research data
  • Language editing
  • Scientific editing
  • Nature Masterclasses
  • Research Solutions

Libraries & institutions

  • Librarian service & tools
  • Librarian portal
  • Open research
  • Recommend to library

Advertising & partnerships

  • Advertising
  • Partnerships & Services
  • Media kits
  • Branded content

Professional development

  • Nature Awards
  • Nature Careers
  • Nature Conferences

Regional websites

  • Nature Africa
  • Nature China
  • Nature India
  • Nature Japan
  • Nature Middle East
  • Privacy Policy
  • Use of cookies
  • Legal notice
  • Accessibility statement
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Your US state privacy rights
Springer Nature

© 2026 Springer Nature Limited

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology