Scientists claim to have cured Crohn's disease after a treatment of antibiotics and faecal transplants sparked long-lasting 'profound remissions' in ten patients. 

Previously thought incurable, Crohn's is a debilitating gut disease that affects around 115,000 people in the United Kingdom and almost 3 million globally. 

It is thought to occur when the body's immune system attacks its own gastrointestinal tract, often causing pain, diarrhoea, fever and weight loss. 

The study was undertaken by Gaurav Agrawal, Thomas Borody and colleagues at the Centre for Digestive Diseases in New South Wales, Australia.

'Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory process of the digestive tract,' they explained in their paper.

'It has a negative impact on many aspects of quality of life — including physical, social, psychological, and sexual functioning.'

The disease — which is becoming more common — is conventionally treated using substances that suppress the activity of the body's immune system.

However, such treatments are not always effective and relapse is common.