The study didn't show that the treatment cured the infection. It just found that bowel movements decreased, and patient self-rated health increased. The placebo

The study didn't show that the treatment cured the infection. It just found that bowel movements decreased, and patient self-rated health increased. The placebo effect has been shown to have a significant effect on diarrhea for IBS: http://www.webmd.com/ibs/news/20101221/secrecy-may-be-unnecessary-for-placebo-effect http://www.webmd.com/ibs/news/20101221/secrecy-may-be-unnece... Also, there are currently no RCTs showing the effectiveness of fecal transplant for C difficile, and a Nature review cautions that there will be a strong placebo effect for invasive procedures: http://tcminfection.com/pdf/5%20(119).pdf http://tcminfection.com/pdf/5%20(119).pdf (This particular study isn't invasive, but it is highly novel, and that has also been shown to correlate with a large placebo effect).