Incontinence Affects More Than 200m People Worldwide, So Why Isn’t More Being Done to Find a Cure?

For a chronic health condition that causes shame and misery for countless people and costs billions, urinary incontinence keeps a low profile. Media reports about chronic health conditions appear with alarming regularity, but it is rare to read about the debilitating impact of the involuntary leakage of urine. Nevertheless, urinary incontinence is a condition which, next to Alzheimer’s or strokes, is reported as most negatively affecting “health-related quality of life”. The reasons for this are not too hard to fathom. Urinary incontinence, of course, elicits some embarrassment. And there also seems to be a feeling this is a low priority condition: urinary incontinence does not directly bear up against the terrible impacts of life threatening conditions and illnesses. Read more.

Source: The Conversation, February 14, 2018

pelvic vaginal mesh stress urinary incontinence Polypropylene vaginal mesh

New Vaginal Mesh Material Could Help Thousands of Women Affected By Life Changing Complications

Scientists from the University of Sheffield have developed a material that could be used as an alternative to the current vaginal mesh material, polypropylene, used to treat pelvic organ prolapse and stress urinary incontinence. The use of these current meshes, in particular surgical procedures, has led to severe complications for millions of women across the world and is now banned in Australia. The research conducted by the University of Sheffield, published today in the journal Neurourology and Urodynamics, provides evidence which supports the use of a softer and more elastic material better suited for use in the pelvic floor and one that releases oestrogen into the surrounding pelvic tissue to form new blood vessels and ultimately speed up the healing process. Read more.

Source: EurekAlert, February 13, 2018

Innovus Pharma Announces the Publication of a Successful Clinical Trial in Overactive Bladder and Urine Incontinence Patients for its UriVarx® Product

Innovus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Innovus Pharma” or the “Company”) (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 that the human clinical trial for the patented formulation in its product UriVarx® product for bladder health was published in the peer reviewed journal, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (Schoendorfer et al. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2018) 18:42). The study was conducted by the team of Dr. Niikee Schoendorfer in Australia in collaboration with the Company’s UriVarx® licensing partner Seipel Group, Ltd. The outcome of this study demonstrated both statistical significance and clinical relevance in reducing symptoms of Overactive Bladder (“OAB”), urinary frequency and/or urgency and incontinence. Read more.

Source: Digital Journal, February 7, 2018

surgeons perform pelvic organ prolapse surgery

New Zealand’s Medsafe regulatory body removes pelvic mesh products from market

New Zealand’s regulatory body Medsafe has taken steps to remove a number of surgical mesh products from the country, according to a release posted today. The agency said the product’s removal was the outcome of a recent regulatory action on surgical mesh products, specifically those designed for treating pelvic organ prolapse via transvaginal implantation and one mini-sling product designed to treat stress urinary incontinence. Medsafe said that last December it requested safety information from four surgical mesh suppliers in New Zealand, following action taken by Australia’s TGA as it looked to review meshes used for urogynaecological use. The earlier TGA’s investigation ended in regulatory actions to remove the devices from the market, MedSafe said, and similarly resulted in their removal from New Zealand’s market. Read more.

Source: +Mass Device, January 31, 2018

There Are Some Benefits to C-Sections, Researchers Say

It may seem like undergoing surgery to have a child wouldn’t have a lot of advantages, but it turns out there may be some benefits to having a cesarean section. Experts warn, however, that it doesn’t mean you should schedule the operation unless it’s needed. A study in PLOS Medicine concluded that women who have cesarean deliveries (also known as C-sections) have a lower risk of urinary incontinence and pelvic prolapse. Dr. Sarah Stock, who researches preterm birth at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and her team looked at one randomized controlled trial and 79 cohort studies involving nearly 30 million women. The studies looked at long-term outcomes of women who had the surgery compared to those who delivered vaginally. Read more.

Source: Healthline, January 23, 2018

Urinary Incontinence: What Pharmacists Should Know

Urinary incontinence (UI), the involuntary leakage of urine, is a frequent and problematic chronic condition for many patients. An estimated 10 to 30% of men and women are affected nationally, though this may be underestimated due to underdiagnoses and undertreatment.^1-3 Often, patients who suffer with UI symptoms will develop poor self-rated health, depression, and mobility disability.^4,5 This comorbid disease state also presents a substantial financial burden; data from 2014 found that in the United States alone, an estimated $65.9 billion in direct and indirect costs were spent for UI treatment.³ Read more.

Source: Drug Topics, January 23, 2018

Magnets and MicroRNAs: A Therapeutic Duo That Could Help Relieve Constipation

It is fairly common to think of constipation in a humorous light. However, anyone who has suffered from the debilitating condition can attest that it is far from a laughing matter. With a sizable percentage of the population increasing in age and opioid abuse reaching epidemic proportions, investigators are looking for new tools to help patients ease their gastrointestinal suffering. Now, investigators from Thomas Jefferson University (TJU) have just released data of a new technique—called magnetofection—that incorporates micro-metal beads coated with small RNA fragments (microRNAs, or miRNAs) injected at specific regions of the colon and held in place with a powerful magnet. Read more.

Source: Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, January 17, 2018

Sleep Quality Improves with Help of Incontinence Drug

A drug used to curtail episodes of urinary incontinence in women also improves quality of sleep, a researcher at the Stanford University School of Medicine reports. People who experience urinary incontinence, especially at night, often have trouble maintaining normal sleep cycles. Now, the Stanford researcher sees promise in using one drug to help remedy both problems. “Two of the biggest quality-of-life factors for older women are poor sleep quality and incontinence, and the older you get, the more prevalent both conditions are, and they do seem to be correlated,” said Leslee Subak, MD, professor and chair of obstetrics and gynecology. “And so, if we can find a drug to treat one and effectively decrease the other too, that could be big for improving quality of life.” Read more.

Source: Stanford Medicine News Center, January 11, 2018

You may also with to read: Incontinence Drug May Help Sleep Dysfunction in Older Women

Elidah Welcomes the New Year with New Funding for Incontinence Therapy

Elidah (http://www.elidah.com) has received multiple awards for further development of its neuromuscular stimulation technology to treat incontinence. Elidah has received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to continue development of its wearable device, Elitone, designed to treat urinary incontinence, a condition that affects one in three women. Additionally, the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program in the Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded Elidah a contract to develop and adapt the Elitone technology for the treatment of injured Service members. These awards start in January 2018. Read more.

Source: NBHerard, January 9, 2018

CompactCath, a Discreet, Compact, Hygienic Urinary Catheter Cleared in EU

The San Francisco Bay Area may be best known for information technology startups, but there are other small companies around that develop very different technologies. CompactCath has created a urinary catheter that solves some of the persistent issues that users of such devices have to face every day, and the company just announced that its eponymous device received CE Mark approval in Europe. About a year ago the CompactCath received FDA clearance. Read more.

Source: Medgadget, December 13, 2017