Tag: urogenital

Categories : Urogenital VaccinesTags :

New Vaccine for UTIs Developed With a Localised Approach

On By ModernMedia

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common complaint, affecting women more than men, with a lifetime prevalence of 50% in women, but so far an effective vaccine has proved elusive. Now, researchers from Duke University have come up with an approach that could result in an workable vaccine.

UTIs are caused by a wide range of Gram-negative and positive bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, and antibiotic resistance coupled with common recurrence makes it a growing health burden. It is thought that the immune response to bladder infections sends more repair cells to deal with the bacterial infection than cells to kill the invading bacteria. Because of this, there are often surviving bacteria that reproduce to cause a subsequent infection.

“Although several vaccines against UTIs have been investigated in clinical trials, they have so far had limited success,” said senior author Professor Soman Abraham at Duke University.

“There are currently no effective UTI vaccines available for use in the U.S. in spite of the high prevalence of bladder infections,” Prof Abraham said. “Our study describes the potential for a highly effective bladder vaccine that can not only eradicate residual bladder bacteria, but also prevent future infections.”

According to lead author Jianxuan Wu, PhD, “the new vaccine strategy attempts to ‘teach’ the bladder to more effectively fight off the attacking bacteria. By administering the vaccine directly into the bladder where the residual bacteria harbour, the highly effective vaccine antigen, in combination with an adjuvant known to boost the recruitment of bacterial clearing cells, performed better than traditional intramuscular vaccination.”

The study found that mice immunised in this way effectively fought off infecting E. coli, eliminating all residual bladder bacteria. This suggests that the site of administration could be important for determining vaccine effectiveness.

“We are encouraged by these findings, and since the individual components of the vaccine have previously been shown to be safe for human use, undertaking clinical studies to validate these findings could be done relatively quickly,” Prof Abraham said.

Source: Medical Xpress

Journal information: Jianxuan Wu el al., “Local induction of bladder Th1 responses to combat urinary tract infections,” PNAS (2021). www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.2026461118

Categories : Allergies Uncategorized UrogenitalTags :

New Research Links Bladder Pain Flare-ups to Pollen

On By ModernMedia

High pollen counts have long been associated with allergic rhinitis with its well known symptoms such as itching eyes, running nose and sneezing, but now new research suggests that it may be aggravating a completely unexpected condition: chronic bladder pain.

In the United States, more than 10 million people are believed to suffer from urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome (UCPPS) – a mysterious cluster of problems which include bladder pain syndrome and interstitial cystitis in women, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and in men, chronic prostatitis.

Researchers regard it as “one of the most frustrating urologic conditions to understand and manage”, requiring a multidisciplinary and multimodal approach to management. However, it has been known to be associated with flare-ups of allergies, prompting Washington University epidemiologist Siobhan Sutcliffe to lead a team to investigate a possible connection. Their study recruited 290 participants diagnosed with UCPPS, and tracked pollen levels from three days before and on the day against UCPPS symptoms. Daily pollen counts did not correlate with UCPPS symptoms, but in participants with when pollen count was medium or high, there was a significant association with symptoms. The mast cell activation involved in pollen allergies release histamines which may be a contributing factor in UCPPS. Evidence for this comes from animal studies which have shown that exposure to histamine makes the bladder hypersensitive. Histamines also stays resident in the bladder longer than in the bloodstream as they are excreted via urine.

Sutcliffe said: “Our study provides evidence to suggest increased pollen counts may trigger symptom flares in people living with UCPPS.”This research may bring an avenue for some now forms of relief to UCPPS sufferers, but further research is needed to eliminate confounding factors, such as environmental factors associated with high pollen counts – strong levels of wind and thunderstorms may trigger pollen allergies but also exert some other kind of separate influence.

“Patients may benefit from taking antihistamines on days with high pollen levels, or from allergy testing and immunotherapy,” concluded Sutcliffe.

Source: Science Alert

Journal information: Javed I, Yu T, Li J et al. Does Pollen Trigger Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome Flares? A Case-Crossover Analysis in the Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain Research Network. Journal of Urology. 2020. doi:10.1097/ju.0000000000001482