New Procedure for Incontinence
By: Charlotte Ames
Updated: September 6, 2012
Doctors are testing a promising new non-surgical option for urinary incontinence.
A laugh, a sneeze, or a cough is all it takes to trigger an embarrassing problem. Carolyn Upton first noticed she was having trouble controlling her bladder in her mid-forties. The exercise enthusiast had stress urinary incontinence.
She was one of 64 women picked for a first of its kind study at Beaumont Hospital. Dr. Kenneth Peters is the Chief of urology, at Beaumont Hospital in Michigan. He leads the research team that's testing a non-surgical procedure to help and possibly cure stress urinary incontinence.
At their doctor's office, patients underwent a leg biopsy to take a little piece of muscle. Cells from that muscle were isolated and then , over several weeks the cells were grown in the lab and separated into doses of ten million, 50 million, 100 million or 200 million cells.
The cells were re-injected and helped regenerate muscles that control the bladder. Dr. Peters says within six months, the majority of patients had at least 50% reduction in their incontinence and depending on the dose, 20-50% of patients become completely dry.
According to Dr. Peters, it appears the higher the dose the better the outcomes. Carolyn says her problem is about 80% better since the procedure. Now she's decided to run a marathon.
The urologist says if incontinence is improved after one treatment but not gone, the cells could possibly be stored and re-injected into patients. He says future trials to test the non-invasive procedure are in the works and could happen within the next year.
A laugh, a sneeze, or a cough is all it takes to trigger an embarrassing problem. Carolyn Upton first noticed she was having trouble controlling her bladder in her mid-forties. The exercise enthusiast had stress urinary incontinence.
She was one of 64 women picked for a first of its kind study at Beaumont Hospital. Dr. Kenneth Peters is the Chief of urology, at Beaumont Hospital in Michigan. He leads the research team that's testing a non-surgical procedure to help and possibly cure stress urinary incontinence.
At their doctor's office, patients underwent a leg biopsy to take a little piece of muscle. Cells from that muscle were isolated and then , over several weeks the cells were grown in the lab and separated into doses of ten million, 50 million, 100 million or 200 million cells.
The cells were re-injected and helped regenerate muscles that control the bladder. Dr. Peters says within six months, the majority of patients had at least 50% reduction in their incontinence and depending on the dose, 20-50% of patients become completely dry.
According to Dr. Peters, it appears the higher the dose the better the outcomes. Carolyn says her problem is about 80% better since the procedure. Now she's decided to run a marathon.
The urologist says if incontinence is improved after one treatment but not gone, the cells could possibly be stored and re-injected into patients. He says future trials to test the non-invasive procedure are in the works and could happen within the next year.
Charlotte Ames is the area's only local Health Reporter and brings you the latest medical health news weeknights. You can catch Healthcast on WTAJ News at 5:00pm and her Health Headlines report on WTAJ News at 5:30pm.