BewellConnect’s MyPeriTens Multi-Action Pelvic Floor Trainer

BewellConnect recently unveiled their new pelvic floor muscle trainer to help women with related issues, including post-partum complications and incontinence. The MyPeriTens device is both an electrical nerve stimulator and electrical muscle stimulator that is controlled through a smartphone app, allowing women to have precise control over the intensity and nature of the electrical signals delivered. The smartphone app has a number of routines built in that the woman can perform on her own, or with assistance of a physical therapist. Each routine can be selected to run at the patient’s preferred intensity level, maximizing benefits while keeping any pain and discomfort at a minimum. Read more.

Source: Medgadget, February 15, 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

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

USPSTF Recommends Against HT for Prevention of Chronic Conditions in Postmenopausal Women

Hormone therapies in menopausal women are associated with some beneficial effects, such as decreased risk for diabetes and fracture, but are also associated with increased risks for stroke, thromboembolic events, gallbladder disease and urinary incontinence, according to an evidence report and systematic review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. In 2012, the USPSTF recommended against the use of HT for prevention of chronic conditions, and the current update continues to recommend against its use. Read more.

Source: Healio, December 12, 2017

Women Have Many Treatment Options for Urinary Incontinence

Roughly half of adult women may experience urinary incontinence, but few of them get diagnosed and treated despite a wide range of options to address the problem, doctors say. Women are particularly prone to stress urinary incontinence, when the pelvic floor muscles are too weak to support the bladder. As a result, urine leaks during coughing, sneezing or exercise. Childbirth is a common reason for weak pelvic muscles, and obesity worsens the problem. Urge incontinence, in contrast, doesn’t have a clear cause, although it can sometimes happen due to neurological problems, the authors note. Some women may get both types of incontinence at once or develop bladder problems due to a urinary tract infection. Read more.

Source: Reuters, October 24, 2017

GTx Announces Positive Results from Enobosarm Phase 2 Clinical Trial

GTx, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTXI) today announced top-line clinical trial results demonstrating that a daily dose of enobosarm 3 mg (GTx-024) substantially improved stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women, as well as related quality of life measurements. In this open-label clinical trial, all 17 patients completing 12 weeks of treatment saw a clinically significant reduction (50 percent or greater) in stress leaks per day, compared to baseline. Mean stress leaks decreased by 83 percent from baseline over 12 weeks, and the reductions in daily stress leaks following completion of treatment have been sustained as patients are being followed for up to 7 months post-treatment to assess the durability of treatment effect. No patient has relapsed to her baseline levels. These results were presented at the International Continence Society (ICS) Annual Meeting currently being held in Florence, Italy from September 12-15, 2017. Read more.

Source: Business Wire, September 13, 2017

State-backed Fund Boosts Monroe Company’s Elitone Medical Device

A Connecticut venture fund is backing a Monroe startup that is seeking Food and Drug Administration approval of a device to help alleviate a urological disorder affecting millions of women. In April, Newtown residents Gloria and Eric Kolb won U.S. patent protection on Monroe-based Elidah’s Elitone device to help women with stress urinary incontinence, with the Elitone device emitting mild electric impulses to stimulate and strengthen pelvic muscles. Women diagnosed with the condition can suffer urinary leakage during physical exertion or while coughing or sneezing. To date, physicians have recommended solutions ranging from exercises to surgical implants called pelvic meshes, with thousands of lawsuits having been filed against three manufacturers of the devices the past few years after women suffered adverse reactions. Read more.

Source: ctpost, August 17, 2017

GTx Announces Preliminary Results with Enobosarm

GTx, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTXI) today announced release of preliminary clinical data from its ongoing, open-label, Phase 2 clinical trial of enobosarm 3 mg (GTx-024) in postmenopausal women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). An abstract entitled “Kegels In A Bottle”: Preliminary Results Of A Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator (GTx-024) For The Treatment Of SUI In Post-Menopausal Women, summarizing clinical data from the first seven patients completing 12 weeks of treatment with enobosarm, is now available on the International Continence Society’s website. This proof-of-concept clinical trial is the first of its kind to evaluate an orally-administered selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) for SUI. Read more.

Source: BusinessWire, June 12, 2017

Low Estrogen May Contribute to Incontinence in Women

Significantly lower levels of oestrogen in peri-menopausal and post-menopausal women could increase their risk of stress urinary incontinence, according to Austrian researchers. They noted that sex steroid levels changed markedly during menopause, and oestrogen deficiency after menopause caused changes within the urogenital tract. Their study included 47 women with stress urinary incontinence who were matched with 47 controls. The findings suggested that low levels of circulating sex steroids might have a negative impact on the function of the lower urinary tract and on mechanisms involved with continence. Read more.

Nursing Times, June 8, 2017

New Genomic Analysis Promises Benefit in Female Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence in women is common, with almost 50% of adult women experiencing leakage at least occasionally. Genetic or heritable factors are known to contribute to half of all cases, but until now studies had failed to identify the genetic variants associated with the condition. Speaking at the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Monday), Dr Rufus Cartwright, MD, a visiting researcher in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Imperial College, London, UK, will say that his team’s investigations hold out the promise that drugs already used for the treatment of other conditions can help affected women combat this distressing problem. Read more.

Source: Medical Xpress, May 29, 2017