Stem Cells Help Urinary Incontinence?
Researchers See Improvement in Some Patients Who Get Stem Cell
Injections
By Kathleen Doheny
WebMD Medical NewsReviewed by Louise Chang, MDJune 28, 2007 --
Injections of stem cells and other cells obtained from a woman's own
body can treat stress urinary incontinence with dramatically better
results than conventional collagen injections, according to a new
study from Austria.
The results, which mimic those from similar research under way in the
U.S., might also be long-lasting. "The treatment might have a chance
to be permanent," Giacomo Novara, MD, a doctor at the University of
Padua in Italy, tells WebMD in an email interview. Novara wrote a
comment accompanying the study. Both appear in the June 30 issue of
The Lancet.
More than 13 million women in the U.S. suffer from stress urinary
incontinence, a condition much more common in women than in men. The
condition develops as the urethral sphincter muscles, which control
the flow of urine, weaken, typically after childbirth or with age.
When a person coughs, sneezes, or laughs, urine can leak.
The Austrian Study
The Austrian researchers, led by Hannes Strasser, MD, from the
Medical University of Innsbruck, compared the effects of the stem
cell injections with conventional injections of collagen in 63 women
with stress urinary incontinence.
They first performed a small muscle biopsy on the upper arms of the
42 women assigned to get the stem cell injections. In the laboratory,
they retrieved myoblasts, a type of muscle stem cell, and
fibroblasts, cells which form the structural framework for many body
tissues. Both types of cells have been shown effective in
reconstructing the lower urinary tract in animal studies, according
to Strasser.
Next, guided by ultrasound, Strasser's team injected the cells back
into the women's sphincter and surrounding area.
Traditional collagen injections, which don't typically have a high
success rate for incontinence, were given to the other 21 women.
Collagen treatments work by bulking up the area to compress the
urethra -- helping to hold urine.
After 12 months, 38 of the 42 women given the stem cell and other
cell injections were completely continent. The other four showed
either slight or substantial improvement. But just two of the 21 who
got collagen injections were continent; seven others showed either
slight or substantial improvement.
On ultrasound exams after the injections, the thickness of the
sphincter had increased 59% in the women given cell injections but
just 9% in the collagen-treated group. The muscle contractibility
rose much more in the cell group. Increases in the sphincter
thickness and muscle contractibility are thought to help improve
symptoms.
Women treated with the injections of cells reported higher quality of
life than the collagen-treated group.
None of the women reported any adverse side effects.
Strasser is a founder and co-owner of the biotechnology company at
which the retrieved cells were prepared, but the company had no role
in the research, he says.
In that study, Chancellor and his colleagues injected adult stem
cells derived from the person's own muscle into the weakened
sphincter and found after a year and half that five of the eight
women with urinary incontinence studied got modest improvement; one
woman was completely continent. The study was a safety study,
considered preliminary, and done in cooperation with the University
of Toronto and Health Canada.
In his editorial, Novara calls the study results "impressive" and
writes: "If the data are confirmed, this approach is likely to cause
a substantial change in the treatment of female urinary incontinence.
If the research bears out, the new approach "may indeed be a true
breakthrough in the management of incontinence,
Dmochowski, MD, a spokesman for the American Urological Association
and director of the Vanderbilt University Continence Center in
Nashville, Tenn. "This study has surprisingly good data and actually
shows not only durability of the injected tissue but also
functionality of that tissue, which is impressive at this time." But
he says more follow-up is needed and other researchers need to
reproduce the results.
Perspective on Urinary Incontinence
Urologists agree that better options are sorely needed for stress
incontinence. Currently, doctors treating women with the condition
suggest pelvic floor exercise or Kegels to strengthen the pelvic
floor muscles, biofeedback to retrain the muscles, or a variety of
surgical options. One procedure involves inserting a mesh-like tape
that serves as a kind of sling to support the urethra and prevent the
involuntary leakage of urine.
Timeline for Stem Cells for Urinary Incontinence
Similar research on injecting a person's own cells for incontinence
treatment is ongoing not only in the U.S. and Austria but also in
several European centers, according to Novara.
If additional research proceeds on schedule, the cell injection
treatment could be available in the U.S. in less than three years,
Chancellor estimates.
Dmochowski is less optimistic about the timelines. Look for the new
treatment to be available, he says, "not earlier than three to five
years from now and possibly as long as seven to 10."
http://www.webmd.
cells-help-urinary-
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
____________________________________________
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Earn your degree in as few as 2 years - Advance your career with an AS, BS, MS degree - College-Finder.net.
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
No comments:
Post a Comment