product approval introduction

Trulance Approved for Chronic Constipation

Trulance (plecanatide) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat persistent constipation of unknown (idiopathic) cause in adults.  Some 42 million people in the United States are affected by constipation, according to the National Institutes of Health. Once-daily Trulance is designed to stimulate the upper gastrointestinal tract to secrete fluid and “support regular bowel function,” the FDA said in a news release. Read more.

Source: HealthDay News, January 20, 2017

Health Canada logo

Axonics Sacral Neuromodulation System Receives Marketing Approval

Axonics Modulation Technologies, Inc. announced today that it received a Homologation d’un instrument médical (medical device approval) for the first rechargeable Sacral Neuromodulation (r-SNM™) System® to treat Overactive Bladder (OAB), Fecal Incontinence and Urinary Retention.  The Health Canada license confirms that the Axonics® product meets all of the Canadian Medical Devices Regulations, Section 36, for Active Implantable Medical Devices and enables Axonics to market its r-SNM System throughout Canada. Read more.

Source: Yahoo! Finance, January 5, 2017

build strength with vaginal weights

Strong Muscles Tied to Lower Risk of Incontinence in Older Women

Women who have more lean muscle mass or better grip strength may be less likely to experience a common type of urinary incontinence, a study suggests.  That’s because strong muscles may help counter what’s known as stress urinary incontinence, which happens when the pelvic floor muscles supporting the bladder are too weak to prevent urine leaks when people do things like cough, sneeze or exercise. Childbirth is a common reason for weak pelvic muscles, and obesity makes the problem worse. Read more.

Source: WHBL, December 15, 2016

operating room surgery

StimGuard Enrolls First Patient in Office-Based Chronic Tibial Nerve OAB Incontinence Stimulation Study Utilizing the World’s Smallest Wireless System

StimGuard, a privately-held, pre-commercial stage medical device company, today announced the initiation and the first patient enrollment in a clinical trial of the world’s first miniature implantable device for the treatment of urgency urinary incontinence resulting from refractory overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome. The StimGuard device utilizes wireless technology and is placed through an introducer device the size of a needle at the tibial nerve to activate the afferent micturition (neural urinary) pathways. The clinical trial of this novel approach will launch this winter. Read more.

Source: Business Wire, December 15, 2016

medical research

Cytori Pivotal ADRESU Incontinence Trial Hits 50% Enrollment Milestone

Cytori Therapeutics, Inc. (CYTX) today announced that over half of 45 patients in the ADRESU trial in Japan have been enrolled and treated. ADRESU is a late phase, investigator-initiated Japanese clinical trial to study the efficacy and safety of Cytori Cell TherapyTM in men with stress urinary incontinence after prostatic intervention for prostate cancer or benign prostatic hypertrophy. Read more.

Source: Yahoo! Finance, December 14, 2016

hormones change as women age

When Bathroom Runs Rule the Day (and Night)

I have only one regret about not having been born a male, and it concerns plumbing, namely how easy it is for men to eliminate liquid waste,  whether by avoiding long bathroom lines or being able to relieve themselves discreetly when no facility is available.  My male envy grew after I contracted poison ivy on unmentionable parts when nature called during a hike in the woods. Urination has long been a vexing problem for women.  Read more.

Source: New York Times, December 12, 2016

weight scale measuring tape

Body Composition May Affect Older Women’s Risk of Urinary Incontinence

In a study of older women, the prevalence of stress- and urgency urinary incontinence (SUI and UUI) was at least two-fold higher among women in the highest category of body mass index (BMI) or fat mass compared with women in the lowest category.  Also, women who lost at least 5% of their BMI or fat mass were less likely to experience new or persistent SUI over 3 years than women with less weight loss.  Read more.

Source: EurekAlert, December 6, 2016

drugs for overactive bladder (OAB)

Innovus Pharma Launches its Clinically Proven UriVarx™ Product for Bladder Health in the United States

Innovus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Innovus Pharma”) (OTCQB Venture Market: INNV), an emerging commercial-stage pharmaceutical company that delivers safe, innovative and effective over-the-counter medicine and consumer care products to improve men’s and women’s health and respiratory diseases, today announced the launch of UriVarx™ in the U.S. UriVarx™ is clinically proven to reduce urinary urgency, accidents and both day and night frequency in Overactive Bladder (“OAB”) and Urinary Incontinence (“UI”) patients.  Read more.

Source: BusinessWire, December 1, 2016

New Beginnings After Incontinence

My Story – Submitted by: Gene

My name is Gene and I’m a 52 year old male. About 5 years ago I began to slowly lose control over my bladder due to a small bladder tumor. After having the tumor removed I found myself incontinent.

Being incontinent and trying to return to school or work seemed impossible for me at first. After my surgery I wasn’t able to return to my old job. Managing my problem at home was hard enough, but at work or school — no way!! There seemed to be little info available out there about practical day to day management. So I thought that this letter might help those out there that also find themselves at this point.Continue reading

school girl education

One More Mom-To-Teenage-Daughter Talk: The School Bathroom

It’s early morning and your teenage daughter runs out the door to school. Much will happen today that you may or may not hear about when you see her again tonight. It’s unlikely that you will hear anything about the school restrooms, yet during her day at school, your daughter is developing habits that can affect her bladder for her lifetime [1]. Three hours into the school day your daughter needs to urinate but doesn’t ask to leave her class because she can’t afford to miss information that will be on this week’s exam. Also this teacher gives extra credit to students who don’t ask for bathroom breaks. A minute later her urge to urinate is gone. During her short passing period to lunch she walks by the restroom, but is too busy texting her friend and doesn’t stop. She eats her lunch and heads to her next class. Suddenly she feels her bladder again. She heads to the bathroom but turns around because the floor looks dirty. Sitting down in class she crosses her legs and does not feel her bladder so much, which is good because her teacher does not allow bathroom breaks right after lunch. Read more.

Source: Huffington Post, November 21, 2016