Renovia Launches “REDUCE” – a Multi-Center Randomized Controlled Trial to Study Next-Generation leva® Pelvic Digital Therapeutic System for Urinary Incontinence

Renovia Inc. (“Renovia”), a company dedicated to discovering and delivering first-line digital therapeutic and diagnostic devices for women with pelvic floor disorders, today announced it has launched a large, multi-center randomized controlled trial (RCT) to study the efficacy of a first-line non-surgical digital therapeutic for the treatment of stress-dominant urinary incontinence (UI). Pelvic floor muscle exercises (PFME), also known as Kegel exercises, are the widely accepted first-line conservative treatment for pelvic floor disorders including stress, urgency, and mixed UI within the urogynecology, urology and physical therapy communities. However, many women have trouble identifying and contracting the correct muscles when performing these exercises, and remembering to perform the exercises regularly can be challenging. Read more.

Source: Business Wire, November 12, 2018

Nearly Half of Women Over 50 Experience Incontinence, but Most Haven’t Talked to a Doctor

Nearly half of women over 50 say they sometimes leak urine — a problem that can range from a minor nuisance to a major issue — according to a new national poll. Of more than 1,000 women between the ages of 50 and 80 who answered the poll, 43 percent of women in their 50s and early 60s said they had experienced urinary incontinence, as had 51 percent of those age 65 and over. Yet two-thirds of these women hadn’t talked to a doctor about the sometimes embarrassing, little-discussed issue. And only 38 percent said they do exercises that can strengthen the muscles that can help keep urine in. The poll shows they’re finding ways of coping on their own – from using pads or special underwear to wearing dark clothing and limiting fluid intake. Read more.

Source: MHealth Lab, OCtober 31, 2018

Health Declines Are More Rapid in Older Women with Urinary Incontinence

As women age, their ability to get around affects their quality of life. A new study shows that older women’s physical functioning declines more rapidly if they develop urinary incontinence, according to public health researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Catherine Pirkle and Yan Yan Wu, both assistant professors in the Office of Public Health Studies in the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work, collaborated with researchers in Brazil, Colombia and Canada to recruit approximately 900 women in their sixties and seventies from those three countries plus Albania. About 25 percent of women over age 60 experience urinary incontinence. Study participants completed a short test of physical functioning, which included measuring the speed of their usual walking pace, checking their balance and testing how fast they could stand up from a chair. The women also completed a questionnaire about their health, which included a query about whether they had experienced any leakage of urine in the past week. After two years, the women repeated the physical functioning test. Read more.

Source: University of Hawai’i News, October 11, 2018

Behavioral Treatment Reduces Urinary Incontinence

A new group-administered behavioral treatment program was safe, cost-effective, reduced urinary incontinence frequency and severity, and improved quality of life among older women, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. “Urinary incontinence guidelines recommend behavioral interventions as first-line treatment using individualized approaches,” Ananias C. Diokno, MD, from the department of urology at Beaumont Hospital, Michigan, and colleagues wrote. “A one-time, group-administered behavioral treatment could enhance access to behavioral treatment.” Read more.

Source: Helio, September 5, 2018

Screening for Urinary Incontinence in Women: A Recommendation

Recommendation on screening for urinary incontinence in women by the Women’s Preventive Services Initiative (WPSI), a national coalition of women’s health professional organizations and patient representatives. The WPSI’s recommendations are intended to guide clinical practice and coverage of services for the Health Resources and Services Administration and other stakeholders. The target audience for this recommendation includes all clinicians providing preventive health care for women, particularly in primary care settings. This recommendation applies to women of all ages, as well as adolescents. Read more.

Source: Annals of Internal Medicine, August 14, 2018

Nearly 1 in 2 Women Aged 45+ Report Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence occurs in nearly 1 in 2 women aged 45 years and older, a new study suggests. The study examined survey results from 143,096 women at baseline (2006–2009) and 59,060 women who participated in a follow-up survey (2012–2015). The prevalence of urinary leakage reported in these surveys was 44% and 44.6%, respectively, Kristine Concepcion, MD, MPH, of Family Planning NSW Ashfield in New South Wales, Australia, and colleagues reported in Neurourology and Urodynamics. Read more.

Source: Renal and Urology News, August 2, 2018

New Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) Classification for Women Proposed

Women seeking care for lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) cluster into 4 distinct symptom groups that differ from conventional clinical diagnostic groups, investigators concluded. A team led by Victor P. Andreev, PhD, of Arbor Research Collaborative for Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan, conducted a cluster analysis using baseline urinary symptoms questionnaire data from 545 care-seeking women enrolled in the Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN) Observational Cohort Study. They identified 4 clusters (F1 through F4). Women in cluster F1 did not report incontinence but experienced post-void dribbling, frequency, and voiding symptoms. Women in cluster F2 reported urgency incontinence as well as urgency and frequency and very minimal voiding symptoms or stress incontinence. Women in cluster F3 reported all types of incontinence, urgency, frequency, and very mild voiding symptoms. Women in cluster 4 report all LUTS at uniformly high levels. Read more.

Source: Renal & Urology News, July 23, 2018

pelvic vaginal mesh stress urinary incontinence Polypropylene vaginal mesh

Government Agrees to Temporarily Ban Vaginal Mesh Implants for Women with Urinary Incontinence

The [UK] government has accepted a recommendation to temporarily ban vaginal mesh implants for women with urinary incontinence. The Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review concluded there must be an immediate pause in the use of surgical mesh to treat stress-urinary incontinence (SUI) – a condition where urine leaks out when the bladder is under pressure. It comes after the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) ruled last year against vaginal mesh as a treatment for pelvic organ collapse, but stated devices could still be used to treat SUI and to repair hernias in men or women. Read more.

Source: Independent, July 9, 2018

Intractable Urinary Incontinence Despite Treatments and Surgeries

My Story – Submitted by: Marguerite

I have suffered from intractable urinary incontinence for 20 years with many treatments and no success. I have undergone the so-called gold standard Burch Procedure surgery during which time I acquired Clostridium difficile in the hospital. I have had vaginal mesh surgery. I have tried Medtronic’s Interstim implant in my buttocks to stimulate my sacral nerve (which later was removed as no longer functioning) and have had several infusions of botox in my bladder. I have had cocktails injected to treat (non existent) interstitial cystitis and now I rely on self-catheterization to Continue reading→

More Than Just a Cosmetic Procedure — ‘Tummy Tuck’ Reduces Back Pain and Incontinence

In addition to restoring the pre-pregnancy shape of the abdomen, abdominoplasty (‘tummy tuck’) surgery with muscle repair can improve back pain and urinary incontinence after childbearing, reports a study in the March issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery®, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Although abdominoplasty is classified as a cosmetic procedure, it also improves two of the most common physical complaints experienced by women after labor and delivery. According to the new research “Abdominoplasty has a proven functional benefit as well as a cosmetic benefit,” comments lead author D. Alastair Taylor, FRACS, of The CAPS Clinic in Deakin, Australia. Read more.

Source: EurekAlert, February 28, 2018