An rising hyperlink between the urinary microbiome and urinary incontinence – . Well being Weblog

Most people know that microorganisms live on our skin and elsewhere in the body such as the digestive tract. However, traditional thinking and medical teaching stated that there was no such microbiome in the urinary tract. Many people may still believe that urine is sterile.

Advanced detection methods such as improved urine cultures and DNA sequencing have shown that this is not the case. These newer technologies have made it possible to identify low levels of microorganisms that were previously not detected by conventional methods. This has revolutionized the way we think about the urinary tract, when it is both healthy and unwell, and has resulted in a paradigm shift as we recognize that the bladder, like other parts of the human body, is largely colonized by microorganisms.

Insight into the urinary microbiome

The urine microbiome has quickly become a hot topic of study, leading to a burgeoning collection of scientific literature in the field. Several scientific studies have investigated which microorganisms make up the microbiome in the urine and how changes in the microbiome can lead to or result from diseases.

Lactobacillus is the most common type of bacteria in the female urinary microbiome, but other bacteria such as Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Aerococcus, Gardnerella and Bifidobacterium are also present. There is evidence that the urinary microbiome changes with age. In addition, previous studies have shown that women with a variety of urological conditions, including overactive bladder and interstitial cystitis / bladder pain syndrome, have an altered urinary microbiome.

Study links urinary microbiome and urinary incontinence

In a recent paper published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, researchers found that women with urinary incontinence – urine leakage beyond their control – had different microbiomes in their urine compared to women on the continent. The microbiomes differ not only in terms of the types of bacteria present, but also in terms of species diversity. In addition, women with stressed urinary incontinence (loss of urine during physical activity) had different urinary microbiomes than women with urgent urinary incontinence (loss of urine with a sudden need to urinate).

In a sense, these results aren't surprising since stress and urgency incontinence have different causes. It is believed that stress urinary incontinence is more of an anatomical problem (which has to do with the structure of body parts) while urgency incontinence is more of a physiological problem (how body parts work).

These study results raise the question of whether differences in the urine microbiome play a role in the development of urinary incontinence or are a consequence of these conditions – similar to the chicken-and-egg puzzle. Further research is needed to better understand the relationship.

A Role for Probiotics in Treating Urological Disease?

These study results may also raise questions about whether probiotics play a role in treating urinary incontinence. However, most of the urine microbiome studies to date have been descriptive and have not explored probiotic use in the treatment of most urological disorders. However, there are some studies (like this and this one) that suggest that lactobacillus-based probiotics can be effective in preventing urinary tract infections.

The emerging research on the urinary microbiome is an important next step in our quest to improve treatment options for women with urinary incontinence and other urological conditions.