Below you will find news and press releases from industry, government, and academia regarding product developments and medical/scientific research news.
Report from NIA-Sponsored Conference Asks: What Don’t We Know About Bladder Control?
Nearly 40 percent of older women and up to 35 percent of older men live with distressing urinary symptoms, including difficulty with bladder control and urinating (sometimes known as “voiding”), which often compromise quality of life and overall health. The lack of truly effective and safe therapies for these challenges stems from insufficient knowledge of the biological mechanisms for urinary control, the impact of aging and disease on urinary control, and the relationships of symptoms to urinary health and overall well-being, so say researchers reporting on a prestigious conference hosted by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) and funded by a grant from the National Institute of Aging (NIA) to George A. Kuchel, MD, FRCP, AGSF, Director of the UConn Center on Aging and Travelers Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology at UConn Health. Read more.
Source: Medical Xpress, December 4, 2017
TENA Introduces New Breathable Tech to Premium Line
The TENA brand’s premium absorbent product portfolio, made by Essity (formerly SCA), features new enhancements to promote skin health. TENA Premium Briefs, Protective Underwear and Heavy Pad incontinence products will now feature TENA ConfioAir 100 percent breathable technology, which allows excess moisture to evaporate, to help maintain skin’s natural moisture balance and improve comfort for wearers. TENA’s ConfioAir technology features a unique outer layer with micro-pores that allows moisture from the inner absorbent core to evaporate. This helps maintain skin’s natural moisture balance, allowing it to breathe and keeping the skin on the inside of the product comfortable and dry. This breakthrough technology is now included across TENA’s premium absorbent product line at no additional cost to the customer. Read more.
Source: HomeCare, November 30, 2017
Australia Bans Use of Vaginal Mesh Implants for Prolapse
An Australian watchdog has banned the use of controversial vaginal mesh implants for prolapse after a review found “the benefits do not outweigh the risks these products pose to patients”. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has decided to remove the use of mesh products in the treatment of pelvic organ prolapse and single incision mini-slings which is used to treat urinary incontinence. This move follows the news that NICE, the health watchdog in the UK, will recommend that mesh should be banned as a routine treatment for prolapse, a condition when organs such as the vagina, uterus or bowel fall down or slip out of place. The draft guidance, seen by Sky News and due to be published next month, states that mesh implants for prolapse should now only be used for research purposes. It does not affect the use of mesh for incontinence which accounts for the majority of operations. Read more.
Source: Sky News, November 29, 2017
Vaginal Mesh Operations Should Be Banned, Says NICE
The health watchdog NICE is to recommend that vaginal mesh operations should be banned from treating organ prolapse in England, the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show has learned. Draft guidelines from NICE say the implants should only be used for research – and not routine operations. Some implants can cut into the vagina and women have been left in permanent pain, unable to walk, work or have sex. One expert said it is highly likely the NHS will take up the recommendation. However, the organisation is not compelled to act on findings it receives from NICE. Both NHS England and NICE declined to comment. Read more.
Source: BBC News, November 27, 2017
Friends Adult Diapers Flags Off Its First Ad Campaign
With the campaign, Friends Adults Diapers aims is to blow the lid off the issue and show how liberating life can be again for a senior who is homebound due to incontinence. Adult Incontinence is considered a taboo across in India, it is brushed away under the carpet and ignored like it doesn’t exist. The brand has launched the country’s first ever campaign for the category, bringing the spotlight on the subject, in a unique light-hearted manner that’s bound to resonate with people across the country. With the campaign, Friends Adults Diapers aims is to blow the lid off the issue and show how liberating life can be again for a senior who is homebound due to incontinence; how one product can bring about a life-altering change in the lives of our elders and how accepting the problem and its solution can leave the senior citizens with happiness and freedom in the last leg of their lives. Read more.
Source: ETBrandEquity.com, November 24, 2017
Tackling the Taboos – Alex Cole-Hamilton Leads Holyrood Debate on Incontinence
As we reported last month, Alex Cole-Hamilton brought a motion calling for a National Continence Strategy to the Scottish Parliament. It was debated yesterday. Here is Alex’s speech. He is pictured here with Elaine Miller, his constituent whose show Gusset Grippers highlighted the issue at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.
If we ask anyone in this chamber or beyond it what their top five fears of age or infirmity might be, we can be sure that the subject of this debate will sit right up there. However, I state from the outset that, if we, as legislators, assume that incontinence is a condition only of the old or infirm, we are mistaken and are part of the problem. I called for the debate because women and men of all ages suffer in silence. It is high time that they are made aware of, and given, treatment, support and—most important—hope. Read more.
Source:Liberal Democrat Voice, November 17, 2017
First New Urinary Catheter for 80 Years to Be Revealed
The inventors of a new catheter claim it could solve one of “the biggest problems” in community nursing and reduce discomfort, embarrassment and complications for millions of patients. They are nearing the final stages of developing their new Flume Catheter, which they hope will solve many of the common problems associated with current models, and are calling on nurses to help them with their ongoing research. Their design, which was also developed with input from community nurses, is less likely to block and also less of an infection risk than older models, according to the clinicians and engineers behind it. Read more.
Source: Nursing Times, November 15, 2017