Duloxetine versus placebo in the treatment of European and Canadian women with stress urinary incontinence

The effect of duloxetine on stress urinary incontinence

Background and Aims

This study aims to evaluate the effect of duloxetine on stress urinary incontinence (SUI) episode frequency (IEF) per week IEF.

Methods

In this clinical trial, 100 women aged 20-80 years with urinary incontinence were assessed based on the standard questionnaire of urinary tract disorders. All the patients received a placebo for 2 weeks. Patients were then randomly divided into two groups of 50 patients each, receiving duloxetine (40 mg twice a day for 12 weeks) and placebo. The two groups were compared in terms of IEF and the mean score of quality of life and side effects.

Results

The two groups of duloxetine and placebo recipients were matched at the beginning of the study in terms of age, BMI, IEF, parity, and type of delivery. IEF significantly decreased in the duloxetine recipient group compared to the placebo group. The mean score of quality of life in the duloxetine recipient group increased significantly. The rate of study abandonment in the duloxetine recipient group was significantly higher than in the placebo group. Vertigo was the most common complication that caused patients to discontinue the use of the drug.

Conclusion

Duloxetine is therapeutically effective for SUI in women. Patients should be provided information regarding potential side effects and their management.

Advances in the molecular pathogenesis and cell therapy of stress urinary incontinence

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is very common in women. It affects patients' mental and physical health, and imposed huge socioeconomic pressure. The therapeutic effect of conservative treatment is limited, and depends heavily on patient persistence and compliance. Surgical treatment often brings procedure-related adverse complications and higher costs for patients. Therefore, it is necessary to better understand the potential molecular mechanisms underlying stress urinary incontinence and develop new treatment methods. Although some progress has been made in the basic research in recent years, the specific molecular pathogenic mechanisms of SUI are still unclear. Here, we reviewed the published studies on the molecular mechanisms associated with nerves, urethral muscles, periurethral connective tissue and hormones in the pathogenesis of SUI. In addition, we provide an update on the recent progresses in research on the use of cell therapy for treating SUI, including research on stem cells therapy, exosome differentiation and gene regulation.

Urinary Incontinence and Pelvic Organ Prolapse in Women

BACKGROUND

Pelvic floor disorders are common, especially in pregnancy and after delivery, in the postmenopausal period, and old age, and they can significantly impact on the patient's quality of life.

METHODS

This narrative review is based on publications retrieved by a selective search of the literature, with special consideration to original articles and AWMF guidelines.

RESULTS

Pelvic floor physiotherapy (evidence level [EL] 1), the use of pessaries (EL2), and local estrogen therapy can help alleviate stress/urge urinary incontinence and other symptoms of urogenital prolapse. Physiotherapy can reduce urinary incontinence by 62% during pregnancy and by 29% 3-6 months post partum. Anticholinergic and β-sympathomimetic drugs are indicated for the treatment of an overactive bladder with or without urinary urge incontinence (EL1). For patients with stress urinary incontinence, selective serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitors can be prescribed (EL1). The tension-free tape is the current standard of surgical treatment (EL1); in an observational follow-up study, 87.2% of patients were satisfied with the outcome 17 years after surgery. Fascial reconstruction techniques are indicated for the treatment of primary pelvic organ prolapse, and mesh-based surgical procedures for recurrences and severe prolapse (EL1).

CONCLUSION

Urogynecological symptoms should be specifically asked about by physicians of all relevant specialties; if present, they should be treated conservatively at first. Structured surgical techniques with and without mesh are available for the treatment of urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. Preventive measures against pelvic floor dysfunction should be offered during pregnancy and post partum.

THE MOST COMMON UROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

OBJECTIVE

The aim: To analyze the available literature on the most common daily urological problems in menopausal women and to evaluate the use of hormone replacement therapy for troublesome urological symptoms.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Materials and methods: Analysis of publications from PubMed databases on the most common disorders during menopause was performed and the most common urog¬ynaecological problems in postmenopausal women were selected according to literature data. Different available methods of treatment of these disorders were compared. Conclusions: During menopause, women struggle with many unpleasant symptoms from the genitourinary system. For most women, this is a very embarrassing topic and, although bothersome, underestimated. The urinary tract infections, urinary incontinence or kidney stones can lead to serious complications, if left untreated. We should strive to make women more aware of possible methods of prevention and treatment of the menopausal symptoms in the context of urological disorders.

Stress urinary incontinence in females. Diagnosis and treatment modalities – past, present and the future

Introduction:

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) can be defined as involuntary and unintentional loss of urine through the urethra when vesical pressure exceeds the urethral sphincter pressure during instances of coughing, sneezing or physical exercise. Stress urinary incontinence is the most common form of incontinence in females with an estimated prevalence of 4.5–53% in adult women with urinary incontinence. Yet despite its distressing nature and a negative impact on quality of life, very few women present with their symptoms to a urologist.

Materials and methods:

A literature search of the MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Embase, NLH, ClinicalTrials.gov and Google Scholar databases was done up to November 2020, using terms related to SUI, medical therapy, surgical therapy and treatment options. The search terms included female stress urinary incontinence, mid-urethral sling, tension-free vaginal tape and trans obturator tape. The search included original articles, reviews and meta-analyses.

Conclusion:

Current guidelines for the management of stress urinary incontinence propose a step-ladder pattern, based on treatment invasiveness starting from conservative therapies, then drugs followed by minimally invasive procedures and culminating in invasive surgeries. The surgical approach is to be considered only after conservative therapies fail. The recent advances in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence have brought to light newer modalities and newer technologies that can be utilized which include laser therapy, stem cell therapy, intravesical balloon and others that show a lot of promise. This paper provides an in-depth analysis and reviews the literature on the current modalities and the future prospects of female stress urinary incontinence.

Level of evidence:

Not applicable for this review article.

Antidepressants on Multiple Sclerosis: A Review of In Vitro and In Vivo Models

Background

Increased prevalence of depression has been observed among patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and correlated with the elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and the overall deregulation of monoaminergic neurotransmitters that these patients exhibit. Antidepressants have proved effective not only in treating depression comorbid to MS, but also in alleviating numerous MS symptoms and even minimizing stress-related relapses. Therefore, these agents could prospectively prove beneficial as a complementary MS therapy.

Objective

This review aims at illustrating the underlying mechanisms involved in the beneficial clinical effects of antidepressants observed in MS patients.

Methods

Through a literature search we screened and comparatively assessed papers on the effects of antidepressant use both in vitro and in vivo MS models, taking into account a number of inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Results

In vitro studies indicated that antidepressants promote neural and glial cell viability and differentiation, reduce proinflammatory cytokines and exert neuroprotective activity by eliminating axonal loss. In vivo studies confirmed that antidepressants delayed disease onset and alleviated symptoms in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE), the most prevalent animal model of MS. Further, antidepressant agents suppressed inflammation and restrained demyelination by decreasing immune cell infiltration of the CNS.

Conclusion

Antidepressants were efficient in tackling numerous aspects of disease pathophysiology both in vitro and in vivo models. Given that several antidepressants have already proved effective in clinical trials on MS patients, the inclusion of such agents in the therapeutic arsenal of MS should be seriously considered, following an individualized approach to minimize the adverse events of antidepressants in MS patients.

Can we harness the placebo effect to improve care in lower urinary tract dysfunction? ICI-RS 2019

The proposal "Can we harness the placebo effect to improve care in lower urinary tract dysfunction?" was discussed at the International Consultation on Incontinence-Research Society (ICI-RS) 2019 meeting. The placebo effect can change the treatment outcome whether the treatment is an active treatment or placebo. The total active treatment outcome is a combination of the placebo and the active treatment effect which is seen in placebo-controlled trials. The placebo effect plays an important role in the treatment of lower urinary tract dysfunction in overactive bladder, bladder pain syndrome, and stress urinary incontinence. In clinical practice, a number of factors can be employed to use the placebo effect to maximize its effect on patients receiving an active treatment, such as having the same environment for review such as the same appointment time, same room, and same clinician. Clinicians should also be aware of the nocebo effect which is increased with an overemphasis on side effects or negative outcomes.

Evaluation of duloxetine and innovative pelvic floor muscle training in women with stress urinary incontinence (DULOXING): Study protocol clinical trial (SPIRIT Compliant)

INTRODUCTION

There is a lack of published studies about the combination of duloxetine and pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT) in women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The aim of our work will be to evaluate the effect of this intervention by assessing whether there is a change in the incontinence episode frequency (IEF), Incontinence Quality of Life (I-QoL), Patient Global Impression of Improvement score (PGI-I) and mean time between voids (MTBV). Combined therapy with duloxetine and PFMT will be compared to duloxetine treatment alone with respect to its efficacy and side effects.

METHODS

This study will be a randomized intervention, parallel, multicenter study in collaboration with 45 urological outpatient clinics at the national level. Patients will be assigned in a 1:1 ratio to the experimental and control groups using simple randomization according to odd and even numbers assigned sequentially to the patients at each clinic. The experimental intervention will be 12 weeks. The experimental group will receive oral treatment with duloxetine at a daily dose of 2 × 40 mg and will be required to perform innovative PFMT. The control group will receive the same oral duloxetine treatment (2 × 40 mg a day) but will not perform PMFT. Data will be collected from both groups before intervention and after the 12-week intervention is completed.

DISCUSSION

The study protocol presents the starting points, design and randomization of an interventional multicenter study to monitor the effect of the combination of duloxetine with innovative PFMT compared to duloxetine treatment alone in women with SUI. This study may provide evidence of the efficacy of this combined treatment for SUI and highlight benefits associated with active approaches to treatment through exercise.

REGISTRATION

This study was retrospectively registered in the ClinicalTrials.go NCT04140253. Protocol version 1.0. date 11.1.2019.

A Systematic Review of Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Duloxetine

Duloxetine is a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor approved for the treatment of patients affected by major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), neuropathic pain (NP), fibromyalgia (FMS), and stress incontinence urinary (SUI). These conditions share parallel pathophysiological pathways, and duloxetine treatment might be an effective and safe alternative. Thus, a systematic review was conducted following the 2009 Preferred Reporting Items (PRISMA) recommendations and Joanna Briggs Institute Critical (JBI) Appraisals guidelines. Eighty-five studies focused on efficacy, safety, and tolerability of duloxetine were included in our systematic review. Studies were subdivided by clinical condition and evaluated individually. Thus, 32 studies of MDD, 11 studies of GAD, 19 studies of NP, 9 studies of FMS, and 14 studies of SUI demonstrated that the measured outcomes indicate the suitability of duloxetine in the treatment of these clinical conditions. This systematic review confirms that the dual mechanism of duloxetine benefits the treatment of comorbid clinical conditions, and supports the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of duloxetine in short- and long-term treatments.

Comparing the effect of electroacupuncture treatment on obese and non-obese women with stress urinary incontinence or stress-predominant mixed urinary incontinence: A secondary analysis of two randomised controlled trials

OBJECTIVE

To explore whether obesity patients with a body mass index (BMI) of ≥25 kg/m2 who suffer from stress urinary incontinence (SUI) or stress-predominant mixed urinary incontinence (S-MUI) show less improvement in urinary incontinence (UI) symptoms after electroacupuncture (EA) treatment compared with non-obese counterparts.

METHODS

This study was a secondary analysis of existing data. About 252 SUI patients and 250 S-MUI patients treated with the same EA regimen were assigned to one of the two groups: the obesity group for BMI ≥25 kg/m2 and the non-obesity group for BMI <25 kg/ m2 . The primary outcome was the proportion of treatment responders, defined as patients exhibiting a ≥50% reduction in 72-hours incontinence episode frequency, as measured by a 72-hours bladder diary at week 6 compared with baseline.

RESULTS

Of the 1004 randomised women, 129 obese women (86 SUI and 43 S-MUI) and 255 non-obese women (166 SUI and 89 S-MUI) treated with EA were included in a secondary analysis. The primary outcome was that 58.3% (74/127) of patients in the obesity group and 60.7% (150/247) of patients in the non-obesity group (difference 0.55%; 95% confidence interval, -10.01 to 11.11; P = .919) responded to treatment.

CONCLUSION

This study suggests that EA treatment may safely improve UI symptoms in both obese and non-obese patients, regardless of BMI category. Additionally, obesity status may not affect the efficacy of EA treatment on SUI or S-MUI among Chinese women.

Adverse Events Associated with Nonsurgical Treatments for Urinary Incontinence in Women: a Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common malady in women. Numerous nonsurgical treatments are available, each associated with risk of adverse events (AEs).

METHODS

We systematically reviewed nonsurgical interventions for urgency, stress, or mixed UI in women, focusing on AEs. We searched MEDLINE®, Cochrane Central Trials Registry, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Embase® through December 4, 2017. We included comparative studies and single-group studies with at least 50 women. Abstracts were screened independently in duplicate. One researcher extracted study characteristics and results with verification by another independent researcher. When at least four studies of a given intervention reported the same AE, we conducted random effects model meta-analyses of proportions. We also assessed the strength of evidence.

RESULTS

There is low strength of evidence that AEs are rare with behavioral therapies and neuromodulation, and that periurethral bulking agents may result in erosion and increase the risk of voiding dysfunction. High strength of evidence finds that anticholinergics and alpha agonists are associated with high rates of dry mouth and constitutional effects such as fatigue and gastrointestinal complaints. Onabotulinum toxin A (BTX) is also associated with increased risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs) and voiding dysfunction (moderate strength of evidence).

DISCUSSION

Behavioral therapies and neuromodulation have low risk of AEs. Anticholinergics and alpha agonists have high rates of dry mouth and constitutional effects. BTX is associated with UTIs and voiding dysfunction. Periurethral bulking agents are associated with erosion and voiding dysfunction. These AEs should be considered when selecting appropriate UI treatment options. AE reporting is inconsistent and AE rates across studies tended to vary widely. Trials should report AEs more consistently.

A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of autologous muscle derived cells in female subjects with stress urinary incontinence

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study was to assess safety and efficacy of autologous muscle derived cells for urinary sphincter repair (AMDC-USR) in female subjects with predominant stress urinary incontinence.

METHODS

A randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial examined intra-sphincteric injection of 150 × 10⁶ AMDC-USR versus placebo in female subjects with stress or stress predominant, mixed urinary incontinence. AMDC-USR products were generated from vastus lateralis needle biopsies. Subjects were randomized 2:1 to receive AMDC-USR or placebo and 1:1 to receive 1 or 2 treatments (6 months after the first). Primary outcome was composite of ≥ 50% reduction in stress incontinence episode frequency (IEF), 24-h or in-office pad weight tests at 12 months. Other outcome data included validated subject-recorded questionnaires. Subjects randomized to placebo could elect to receive open-label AMDC-USR treatment after 12 months. Subject follow-up was up to 2 years.

RESULTS

AMDC-USR was safe and well-tolerated with no product-related serious adverse events or discontinuations due to adverse events. Interim analysis revealed an unexpectedly high placebo response rate (90%) using the composite primary outcome which prevented assessment of treatment effect as designed and thus enrollment was halted at 61% of planned subjects. Post hoc analyses suggested that more stringent endpoints lowered placebo response rates and revealed a possible treatment effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the primary efficacy finding was inconclusive, these results inform future trial design of AMDC-USR to identify clinically meaningful efficacy endpoints based on IEF reduction, understanding of placebo response rate, and refinement of subject selection criteria to more appropriately align with AMDC-USR's proposed mechanism of action.

Role of the serotonergic system in urethral continence reflexes during sneezing in rats

To clarify the role of serotonin (5-HT) in the prevention of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) during sneezing, we investigated the effect of intraperitoneal application of p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA; a serotonin synthesis inhibitor) and intravenous application of CP-809101 (a 5-HT_2C agonist) or LP44 (a 5-HT₇ agonist) using female rats, in which the neurally evoked continence reflex during sneezing was examined. Amplitudes of urethral pressure response during sneezing (A-URS), urethral baseline pressure (UBP) at the middle urethra, and sneeze-induced leak point pressure (S-LPP) were measured in normal female adult rats with or without drug administration. PCPA decreased A-URS by 35.1 cmH₂O and UBP by 13.3 cmH₂O compared with normal rats. In PCPA-administrated rats, CP-809101 increased A-URS by 24.1 cmH₂O and UBP by 15.1 cmH₂O, and LP44 also increased A-URS by 20.6 cmH₂O and UBP by 11.4 cmH₂O compared with rats treated with PCPA alone. SUI was observed with S-LPP of 40.1 cmH₂O in PCPA-administrated rats, in which CP-809101 and LP44 increased S-LPP by 28.0 and 15.2 cmH₂O, respectively, compared with rats treated with PCPA alone. The effects of CP-809101 and LP44 were antagonized by SB-242084 (a selective 5-HT_2C antagonist) and SB-269970 (a selective 5-HT₇ antagonist), respectively. These results indicate that activation of 5-HT receptors enhances the active urethral closure reflex during sneezing, at least in part via 5-HT_2C and 5-HT₇ receptors.

Treating depression in multiple sclerosis with antidepressants: A brief review of clinical trials and exploration of clinical symptoms to guide treatment decisions

Depression is a common comorbidity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Those with MS and concurrent depression have poorer quality of life and are also less likely to be compliant with disease-modifying treatment, which may ultimately affect their MS disease course. Treating depression in MS with pharmacological agents can improve not only depression, but may also impact the MS disease course. However, no guidelines exist around treating depression in MS. Few randomized-controlled trials using antidepressants in MS exist. Here, we briefly review trials using antidepressant medications to treat depression in MS. We also propose individualizing treatment of depression in MS, as the depressive symptoms and MS symptoms and disease course differ significantly between patients. We explore the heterogeneity in presentation of depression through different comorbid symptoms in MS, and discuss which antidepressant options would be appropriate in each situation. We propose that future clinical trials should incorporate differences in issues between those with depression (e.g. sexual dysfunction, urinary incontinence) into analysis. As MS is incredibly heterogeneous, treating concurrent depression on a case-by-case basis may enable for improving quality of life and the MS disease course.

Evaluation of Overactive Bladder in Male Antidepressant Users: A Prospective Study

PURPOSE

In this study, we investigated overactive bladder (OAB) functions in male patients who used antidepressant drugs (ADs) that were previously examined in female patients, based on conflicting data in literature regarding the effects of AD on OAB and the differences between male and female urinary system physiologies (anatomical and hormonal).

METHODS

The study included 202 male patients (a control group of 90 healthy subjects, and an experimental group of 112 patients taking ADs for different disorders). All the patients completed the overactive bladder-validated 8 (OAB-V8) questionnaire, the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDS).

RESULTS

The OAB-V8, ICIQ-SF, and BDS scores for the antidepressant users were significantly higher than those of the control group. The highest prevalence of OAB symptoms was observed in patients taking venlafaxine (68.2%), and the lowest prevalence was in patients taking sertraline (28.0%). Moreover, the frequency of OAB between the antidepressant groups was statistically significant. The univariate logistic regression analyses showed a significant relationship between the presence of OAB, antidepressant usage, BDS score, and the age of a patient. In the multivariate logistic regression analyses, the association between the presence of OAB and antidepressant usage was statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The present study showed that the incidence of OAB and the severity of OAB symptoms increased in males using antidepressants for various disorders. This may have been due to unique pharmacological effects, on a molecular or individual level, of serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors.

Considering benefits and harms of duloxetine for treatment of stress urinary incontinence: a meta-analysis of clinical study reports

BACKGROUND

The European Medicines Agency makes clinical study reports publicly available and publishes reasons for not approving applications for marketing authorization. Duloxetine has been approved in Europe for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women. The reported adverse effects of duloxetine include mental health problems and suicidality. We obtained clinical study reports from the European Medicines Agency concerning use of this drug for stress urinary incontinence.

METHODS

We performed a meta-analysis of 4 randomized placebo-controlled trials of duloxetine (involving a total of 1913 patients) submitted to the European Medicines Agency for marketing approval for the indication of stress urinary incontinence in women. We used data from the clinical study reports (totalling 6870 pages and including individual patient data) to assess benefits (including frequency of incontinence and changes in quality-of-life scores, such as Patient Global Impression of Improvement rating) and harms (both general harms, including discontinuation because of adverse events, and harms related to suicidality, violent behaviour and their potential precursors, such as akathisia and activation [stimulating effects such as insomnia, anxiety and agitation]).

RESULTS

Duloxetine was significantly better than placebo in terms of percentage change in weekly incontinence episodes (mean difference -13.56%, 95% confidence interval [CI] -21.59% to -5.53%) and change in Incontinence Quality of Life total score (mean difference 3.24, 95% CI 2.00 to 4.48). However, the effect sizes were small, and a sensitivity analysis (with removal of one trial) showed that the number needed to treat for a Patient Global Impression of Improvement rating of "much better or very much better" was 8 (95% CI 6 to 13). The numbers needed to harm were 7 (95% CI 6 to 8) for discontinuing because of an adverse event and 7 (95% CI 6 to 9) for experiencing an activation event. No suicidality, violence or akathisia events were noted.

INTERPRETATION

Although duloxetine is effective for stress urinary incontinence in women, the rates of associated harm were high when individual patient data were analyzed, and the harms outweighed the benefits.

Duloxetine in the Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence

Objective:

To review the available literature regarding the use of duloxetine in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

Data Sources:

Clinical trials were obtained through a PubMed search (1966–December 2004) with the key words duloxetine, urinary incontinence, and stress.

Data Synthesis:

This article analyzes 5 clinical studies comparing duloxetine with placebo. The randomized, double-blind, multicenter trials were performed in the US and throughout the world and had strict inclusion criteria to enroll only patients with confirmed stess urinary incontinence. All trials showed a statistically significant decrease in incontinence episode frequency of 50–60% for duloxetine compared with a placebo response of 27–40%.

Conclusions:

Duloxetine appears to be an effective treatment for stress urinary incontinence. Additional trials comparing duloxetine with pelvic floor muscle training would better define duloxetine's place in therapy.

[Pharmacotherapy of urinary incontinence in the elderly]

The prevalence and the incidence of Urinary Incontinence is growing. Women suffer predominantly from stress and mixed urinary incontinence and men from urge incontinence. In elderly people, the pathophysiological and the physiological change in the lower urinary tract system must be considered as well as an underlying multimorbidity. Stress urinary incontinence is among others caused by an insufficient urethral closure mechanism and urge incontinence is followed by unhibited detrusor contractions. Medical treatment is beside other important conservative options only one part of the treatment strategy in incontinence. Duloxetine, a serotonine-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitore can increase activity of the external urethral sphincter and is able to reduce incontinence episodes in up to 64 %. Antagonists of muscarinic receptors can reduce urgency, frequency and urge incontinence as well as increase bladder capacity significantly. In Germany, darifenacin, fesoterodin, oxybutynin, propiverine, solifenacin, tolterodine and trospium chloride are available to treat urge incontinence. The efficacy of these agents are almost comparable in the elderly with the exception of oxybutynin IR. However, tolerability is different and not well studied in the elderly population with the exception of fesoterodin. Side effects, especially dry mouth, dizziness and constipation often limit their use. None of the agents show ideal efficacy or tolerability in all patients. Last summer therefore a β3-agonist mirabegron was also introduced in Germany but was withdrawn.

The risk of bleeding with duloxetine treatment in patients who use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs): analysis of placebo-controlled trials and post-marketing adverse event reports

Purpose

To assess the safety of duloxetine with regards to bleeding-related events in patients who concomitantly did, versus did not, use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin.

Methods

Safety data from all placebo-controlled trials of duloxetine conducted between December 1993 and December 2010, and post-marketing reports from duloxetine-treated patients in the US Food and Drug Administration Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), were searched for bleeding-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). The percentage of patients with bleeding-related TEAEs was summarized and compared between treatment groups in all the placebo-controlled studies. Differences between NSAID user and non-user subgroups from clinical trial data were analyzed by a logistic regression model that included therapy, NSAID use, and therapy-by-NSAID subgroup interaction. In addition, to determine if higher duloxetine doses are associated with an increased incidence of bleeding-related TEAEs, and whether the use of concomitant NSAIDs might influence the dose effect if one exists, placebo-controlled clinical trials with duloxetine fixed doses of 60 mg, 120 mg, and placebo were analyzed. Also, the incidence of bleeding-related TEAEs reported for duloxetine alone was compared with the incidence in patients treated with duloxetine and concomitant NSAIDs. Finally, the number of bleeding-related cases reported for duloxetine in the FAERS database was compared with the numbers reported for all other drugs.

Results

Across duloxetine clinical trials, there was a significantly greater incidence of bleeding-related TEAEs in duloxetine- versus placebo-treated patients overall and also in those patients who did not take concomitant NSAIDS, but no significant difference was seen among those patients who did take concomitant NSAIDS. There was no significant difference in the incidence of bleeding-related TEAEs in the subset of patients treated with duloxetine 120 mg once daily versus those treated with 60 mg once daily regardless of concomitant NSAID use. The combination of duloxetine and NSAIDs was associated with a statistically significantly higher incidence of bleeding-related TEAEs compared with duloxetine alone. A similarly higher incidence of bleeding-related TEAEs was seen in patients treated with placebo and concomitant NSAIDs compared with placebo alone. Bleeding-related TEAEs reported in the FAERS database were disproportionally more frequent for duloxetine taken with NSAIDs compared with the full FAERS background, but there was no difference in the reporting of bleeding-related TEAEs when the cases reported for duloxetine taken with NSAIDs were compared against the cases reported for NSAIDs alone.

Conclusion

Concomitant use of NSAIDs was associated with a higher incidence of bleeding-related TEAEs in clinical trials regardless of whether patients were taking duloxetine or placebo; bleeding-related TEAEs did not appear to increase along with duloxetine dose regardless of NSAID use. In spontaneously reported post-marketing data, the combination of duloxetine and NSAID use was not associated with an increased reporting of bleeding-related events when compared to NSAID use alone.

Observational study on safety and tolerability of duloxetine in the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence in German routine practice

AIMS

To evaluate the safety and tolerability of duloxetine during routine clinical care in women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in Germany, and in particular, to identify previously unrecognized safety issues as uncommon adverse reactions, and the influence of confounding factors present in clinical practice on the safety profile of duloxetine.

METHODS

Office-based urologists, gynaecologists and primary care physicians were asked to document women newly started on treatment for moderate to severe symptoms of SUI. Six thousand eight hundred and fifty-four patients from urologist/gynaecologist practices and 5879 primary care patients were assessed. In a two-armed, observational study with parallel 12 week (urologists and gynaecologists) or 24 week (primary care physicians) design, patients were treated with duloxetine or other conservative treatment. The main outcome measure was the occurrence of adverse events (AEs).

RESULTS

Baseline characteristics differed slightly between patient groups and studies. Duloxetine doses in most patients were lower than recommended. Overall, AE frequency with duloxetine was lower than in controlled studies (15.9% (95% CI 14.9, 16.9) and 9.1% (95% CI 8.2, 10.0) in the 12 and 24 week treatment groups, respectively), but exhibited a similar qualitative spectrum. In the logistic regression models, the following factors were associated with greater AE risk: investigator specialization (gynaecologist vs. urologist and primary care physician), initial duloxetine dose (80 vs. 20 mg day(-1) ) and use of any concomitant medication. Within the 24 week study, a positive screen for depressive disorder was surprisingly common, but no case of attempted suicide was reported in either study.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results from German clinical practice show that women with SUI were often treated with duloxetine doses lower than recommended. This was associated with a low incidence of AEs. Suicide attempts were not reported.

The role of duloxetine in stress urinary incontinence: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

This systematic review determined whether the duloxetine can get more benefits versus placebo in managing women with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) all over the world.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing duloxetine with placebo in these patients. The eligible RCTs were identified from the following electronic databases: Cochrane CENTRAL, Medline and EMBASE. We treated the incontinence episode frequency (IEF) as the main outcome, and the secondary outcomes were cured, average voiding interval, incontinence quality of life (I-QOL), treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and discontinuation.

RESULTS

The review contained ten trials including 5,738 women who were randomized to take duloxetine or placebo. All arms in individual trials were comparable for various baseline characteristics. Individual studies showed a significantly greater decrease in IEF than placebo group. The total IEF responders (defined as a woman who had at least a 50 % decrease in IEF with treatment) within the duloxetine-treated women were more than the placebo-treated women (52.5 vs. 33.7 %; RR = 1.56; 95 %CI, 1.46-1.66; p < 0.00001). TEAEs were commonly experienced by both two groups (62.7 vs. 45.3 %) though they were not critical.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Our meta-analysis showed that significant efficacy can be found in women treated with a certain dose of duloxetine. The adverse events like nausea, constipation, dry mouth, fatigue etc. are common.

Mapping EQ-5D utility scores from the Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire among patients with neurogenic and idiopathic overactive bladder

OBJECTIVES

To provide a mapping algorithm for estimating EuroQol five-dimensional (EQ-5D) questionnaire index scores from the Incontinence-specific Quality of Life questionnaire (I-QOL) based on nationally representative samples of patients with idiopathic or neurogenic overactive bladder (OAB) using EQ-5D questionnaire preference valuations based on both the UK and US general populations.

METHODS

Analyses were conducted for 2505 patients from the Adelphi Overactive Bladder Disease Specific Programme, a cross-sectional study of patients with idiopathic or neurogenic OAB, undertaken in the United States and Europe in 2010. A range of statistical modeling techniques was used. Tenfold cross-validation techniques were used to calculate mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) goodness-of-fit statistics. Various predictor lists, together with a method combining stepwise selection with multivariable fractional polynomial techniques to allow nonlinear relationships to feature, were pursued.

RESULTS

Choice of predictors was consistent for both the UK and US EQ-5D questionnaire tariffs. For idiopathic, the best model included the I-QOL total score and age (both modeled nonlinearly.) For neurogenic, the best model was the I-QOL social embarrassment domain score modeled linearly only. Best-fit results were better in the idiopathic (n = 2351; MAE = 0.10; RMSE = 0.14) than in the neurogenic sample (n = 254; MAE = 0.17; RMSE = 0.22).

CONCLUSIONS

This research provides algorithms for mapping EQ-5D questionnaire index scores from the I-QOL, allowing calculation of appropriate preference-based health-related quality-of-life scores for use in cost-effectiveness analyses when only I-QOL data are available. The strongest results were for idiopathic patients, but those for neurogenic are consistent with those of other published mapping studies.

Duloxetine in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence

This manuscript reviews the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics of duloxetine and its efficacy and safety in women with stress urinary incontinence. Duloxetine is a selective inhibitor of neuronal serotonin and norepinephrine uptake which increases urethral striated muscle activity and bladder capacity. Duloxetine is readily absorbed and extensively metabolized; cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) inhibiting drugs can markedly increase duloxetine exposure. The clinical efficacy of duloxetine has consistently been demonstrated in several randomized, double-blind studies in women with moderate-to-severe stress urinary incontinence, but the additional benefit relative to placebo was moderate. Duloxetine treatment is frequently associated with adverse events such as nausea, dry mouth, fatigue, insomnia and constipation, but serious adverse events are rare. Therefore, duloxetine appears suitable for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence.

75NC007 device for noninvasive stress urinary incontinence management in women: a randomized controlled trial

INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS

Management of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) with intravaginal devices is an alternative to surgical management, but data of a high level of evidence remain scarce. Our goal was to assess efficacy, tolerance, and acceptability of the 75NC007 intravaginal device for SUI management.

METHODS

A phase III, multicenter randomized controlled trial was conducted. After an initial washout period with no treatment, allowing baseline evaluation, women with SUI were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group (no treatment). The primary endpoint was the reduction of incontinence episode frequency (IEF), according to bladder diaries, as compared to baseline. Secondary endpoints were variation of the Urinary Symptom Profile (USP) score, of 24-h pad test, and of CONTILIFE questionnaire scores as compared to baseline. Intent-to-treat and per-protocol analyses were conducted.

RESULTS

Fifty-five patients were enrolled and analyzed (26 controls and 29 treated). The mean relative variations of IEF, SUI USP subscore, and overactive bladder (OAB) USP subscore were more significant in the treatment group than in the control group (-31.7 ± 65.1 % vs -7.6 ± 24.5 %, p = 0.002, -2.4 ± 2.6 vs 0.2 ± 2.2, p = 0.004, and -1.5 ± 2.8 vs 0.2 ± 1.8, p = 0.016, respectively). The dysuria USP subscore was slightly decreased in the treatment group. CONTILIFE scores were slightly improved in the treatment group. Pad test variations were not different between groups. No serious adverse event was noted throughout the entire study.

CONCLUSIONS

The 75NC007 intravaginal device is a safe and effective noninvasive treatment of SUI in women.

Evaluation of efficacy of duloxetine in stress urinary incontinence in women

Objective:

The purpose of this study has been to assess the efficacy of duloxetine, a selective inhibitor of serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake, in the treatment of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in women.

Materials and Methods:

The study included 50 women aged above 18 years with a predominant symptom of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). The case definition included a predominant symptom of SUI with a weekly incontinence episode frequency (IEF) of seven or greater and a positive cough stress test. All the patients received duloxetine 20 mg twice daily for 12 weeks. The primary outcome variables included the IEF and improvement in quality of life. Paired Student's ‘t’ test was used to analyze changes in IEF.

Results:

The improvement with duloxetine treatment was found in 40 out of 50 patients. Remaining 10 patients did not show any improvement with duloxetine and discontinued the treatment. In 40 patients, the mean baseline IEF was 12.5/week. At the end of three months treatment, IEF was six/week. This shows a statistically significant reduction in the IEF. Also, there was a good improvement in quality of life with 65% of patients in the “very much better” and “much better” categories according to PGI-I scale. In the remaining 10 patients, there was no significant improvement after one month of treatment and patients underwent surgery.

Conclusions:

The findings support duloxetine as a potential treatment for women with stress urinary incontinence.

Effects of varying degrees of renal impairment on the pharmacokinetics of duloxetine: analysis of a single-dose phase I study and pooled steady-state data from phase II/III trials

BACKGROUND

Duloxetine is indicated for patients with a variety of conditions, and some of these patients may have mild to moderate degrees of renal impairment. Renal impairment may affect the pharmacokinetics of a drug by causing changes in absorption, distribution, protein binding, renal excretion or nonrenal clearance. As duloxetine is highly bound to plasma proteins and its metabolites are renally excreted, it is prudent to evaluate the effect of renal insufficiency on exposure to duloxetine and its metabolites in the systemic circulation.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of varying degrees of renal impairment on duloxetine pharmacokinetics in a single-dose phase I study and using pooled steady-state pharmacokinetic data from phase II/III trials.

METHODS

In the phase I study, a single oral dose of duloxetine 60 mg was given to 12 subjects with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and 12 matched healthy control subjects. In the phase II/III trials (n = 463 patients), duloxetine 20-60 mg was given as once- or twice-daily doses. Duloxetine and metabolite concentrations in plasma were determined using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Noncompartmental methods (phase I: duloxetine and its metabolites) and population modelling methods (phase II/III: duloxetine) were used to analyse the pharmacokinetic data.

RESULTS

The maximum plasma concentration (C(max)) and the area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC) of duloxetine were approximately 2-fold higher in subjects with ESRD than in healthy subjects, which appeared to reflect an increase in oral bioavailability. The C(max) and AUC of two major inactive conjugated metabolites were as much as 2- and 9-fold higher, respectively, reflecting reduced renal clearance of these metabolites. Population pharmacokinetic results indicated that mild or moderate renal impairment, assessed by creatinine clearance (CL(CR)) calculated according to the Cockcroft-Gault formula, did not have a statistically significant effect on pharmacokinetic parameters of duloxetine. Values for the apparent total body clearance of duloxetine from plasma after oral administration (CL/F) in subjects with ESRD were similar to CL/F values in patients with normal renal function or with mild or moderate renal impairment.

CONCLUSION

Dose adjustments for duloxetine are not necessary for patients with mild or moderate renal impairment (CL(CR) > or =30 mL/min). For patients with ESRD or severe renal impairment (CL(CR) <30 mL/min), exposures of duloxetine and its metabolites are expected to increase; therefore, duloxetine is not generally recommended for these patients.

Properties of urethral rhabdosphincter motoneurons and their regulation by noradrenaline

The urethral rhabdosphincter (URS), commonly known as the external urethral sphincter, facilitates urinary continence by constricting the urethra. Striated muscle fibres in the urethral rhabdosphincter are innervated by Onuf's nuclei motoneurons in the spinal cord. Although noradrenaline (NA) reuptake inhibitors are shown to increase URS tone preventing urinary leakage in incontinent patients, whether or how NA affects URS motoneurons is unknown. Properties of dye-labelled URS motoneurons were investigated by whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in isolated spinal cord slices prepared from neonatal female rats. As previously shown for adult sphincter motoneurons, neonatal URS motoneurons are more depolarized and possess higher input resistance than other spinal α-motoneurons. These distinct properties make URS motoneurons more excitable than other α-motoneurons. Moreover, bath application of noradrenaline (NA) significantly depolarizes URS motoneurons and in many cases evokes action potentials. NA also significantly increases input resistance and reduces rheobase. These changes are reversed with wash, are largely blocked by the α(1)-adrenoceptor-selective antagonist prazosin, and are mimicked by the α(1)-adrenoceptor-selective agonist phenylephrine. In addition, NA significantly reduces the amplitude of the afterhyperpolarization and increases action potential frequency. Both the increase in action potential frequency and the reduction in afterhyperpolarization are occluded by apamin, a small-conductance calcium-activated potassium (SK(Ca)) channel blocker. In conclusion, NA effectively increases the excitability of URS motoneurons through multiple mechanisms. The NA-induced increase in excitability of urethral rhabdosphincter motoneurons could be a key mechanism by which NA reuptake inhibitors improve stress urinary incontinence.

Neural control of the female urethral and anal rhabdosphincters and pelvic floor muscles

The urethral rhabdosphincter and pelvic floor muscles are important in maintenance of urinary continence and in preventing descent of pelvic organs [i.e., pelvic organ prolapse (POP)]. Despite its clinical importance and complexity, a comprehensive review of neural control of the rhabdosphincter and pelvic floor muscles is lacking. The present review places historical and recent basic science findings on neural control into the context of functional anatomy of the pelvic muscles and their coordination with visceral function and correlates basic science findings with clinical findings when possible. This review briefly describes the striated muscles of the pelvis and then provides details on the peripheral innervation and, in particular, the contributions of the pudendal and levator ani nerves to the function of the various pelvic muscles. The locations and unique phenotypic characteristics of rhabdosphincter motor neurons located in Onuf's nucleus, and levator ani motor neurons located diffusely in the sacral ventral horn, are provided along with the locations and phenotypes of primary afferent neurons that convey sensory information from these muscles. Spinal and supraspinal pathways mediating excitatory and inhibitory inputs to the motor neurons are described; the relative contributions of the nerves to urethral function and their involvement in POP and incontinence are discussed. Finally, a detailed summary of the neurochemical anatomy of Onuf's nucleus and the pharmacological control of the rhabdosphincter are provided.

Profile of adverse events with duloxetine treatment: a pooled analysis of placebo-controlled studies

BACKGROUND

The serotonin and noradrenaline (norepinephrine) reuptake inhibitor duloxetine has been approved in the US and elsewhere for a number of indications, including psychiatric illnesses and chronic pain conditions. Because the patient populations are diverse within these approved indications, and duloxetine is not yet approved for treatment of other conditions, we wanted to determine if adverse event profiles would differ among patients being treated for these various conditions.

OBJECTIVE

To provide detailed information on the adverse events associated with duloxetine and to identify differences in the adverse event profile between treatment indications and patient demographic subgroups.

METHODS

Data were analysed from all placebo-controlled trials of duloxetine completed as of December 2008. The 52 studies included 17,822 patients (duloxetine n = 10,326; placebo n = 7496) with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis knee pain (OAKP), chronic lower back pain and lower urinary tract disorders. The main outcome measures were rates of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and adverse events reported as the reason for discontinuation.

RESULTS

The overall TEAE rate was 57.2% for placebo-treated patients and 72.4% for duloxetine-treated patients (p < or = 0.001). Patients with OAKP had the lowest TEAE rate (placebo 36.7% vs duloxetine 50.2%, p < or = 0.01), while patients with fibromyalgia had the highest rate (placebo 80.0% vs duloxetine 89.0%, p < or = 0.001). The most common TEAE for all indications was nausea (placebo 7.2% vs duloxetine 23.4%, p < or = 0.001), which was predominantly mild to moderate in severity. No statistically significant treatment-by-subgroup interactions for age were found between placebo and duloxetine treatment for the most common TEAEs. The rates of duloxetine-associated dry mouth and fatigue were greater in women than in men (13.1% vs 10.4%, interaction p = 0.004; and 9.4% vs 7.6%, interaction p = 0.03, respectively). Duloxetine-associated dry mouth incidence was higher in Caucasians than non-Caucasians (13.2%, 11.0%, interaction p = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Duloxetine treatment is associated with significantly higher rates of common TEAEs versus placebo, regardless of indication or demographic subgroup. Differences across indications are likely to be attributable to the underlying condition rather than duloxetine, as suggested by the similar trends observed in placebo- and duloxetine-treated patients.

Reductions in stress urinary incontinence episodes: what is clinically important for women?

AIM

To expand our understanding of the clinical importance to patients with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) of reductions in incontinence episode frequency (IEF) that fall short of a complete cure.

METHODS

We used an integrated database that included data from 1,913 women with SUI who were enrolled in four randomized, placebo-controlled pharmaceutical clinical trials and examined the relationship between various levels of reduction in IEF and minimally clinical important difference (MCID) levels established for the validated Incontinence Quality of Life (I-QOL) questionnaire. The first decile of IEF reduction to exceed the within-group MCID was considered to be the point at which the reduction in IEF first became clinically important. The between-group MCID was then used to determine when further reductions in incontinence represented clinically relevant incremental improvements for patients.

RESULTS

Improvements in condition-specific quality of life were not clinically important until the fifth decile of IEF reduction, representing a reduction in IEF >40% to <or=50%. Patients appreciated incremental clinically important benefits when IEF reductions exceeded 70%, with progressive improvements in condition-specific quality of life with higher levels of IEF reduction. The difference between a >70% to <or=80% reduction and a >90% to <or=100% reduction was clinically important.

CONCLUSION

Reductions in IEF <or=40% do not appear to be clinically important for women with SUI. Patients appear to recognize important clinical value at reductions of approximately 50% and important incremental clinical value at reductions of approximately 75% and 90-100%. These thresholds may not apply to women seeking non-pharmaceutical treatments for SUI.

Polymeric Microspheres for Medical Applications

Synthetic polymeric microspheres find application in a wide range of medical applications. Among other applications, microspheres are being used as bulking agents, embolic- or drug-delivery particles. The exact composition of the spheres varies with the application and therefore a large array of materials has been used to produce microspheres. In this review, the relation between microsphere synthesis and application is discussed for a number of microspheres that are used for different treatment strategies.

The market lifecycle of duloxetine for urinary incontinence in Norway

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the epidemiology of prescriptions for duloxetine for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence during its entire lifecycle in Norway (October 2004-May 2007), including the persistence of use of the drug and the prescribers.

DESIGN AND SETTING

Observational study in Norway.

SAMPLE

All prescriptions on duloxetine filled in Norwegian pharmacies.

METHODS

Data from the Norwegian Prescription Database.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

Patient's age, unique identification, date of dispensing, data on specialty of the prescribing doctor, and number of packages purchased. Persistence of use of duloxetine was analyzed by grouping the months of first prescription filled into quarters of a year, from the fourth quarter of 2004 to the third quarter of 2007.

RESULTS

A total of 3,024 filled prescriptions were recorded of which 2,903 (96%) could be further analyzed, corresponding to 37 users per 100,000 women in the population. Each patient filled a mean of 3.4 prescriptions. The persistence of use was very low from the second quarter itself, and after 1 year only 12.5% of the patients still purchased the drug. Most prescriptions were written by GPs and gynecologists. A prescription database like ours consists of dispensed prescriptions and not drugs taken. We believe that these biases are of little importance for the main results.

CONCLUSIONS

Analyses from the national prescription database show that duloxetine had a low uptake on the market and a low persistence rate among the patients during its full lifecycle on the Norwegian market.

Short- and long-term efficacy and safety of duloxetine in women with predominant stress urinary incontinence

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate short- and long-term safety and efficacy of duloxetine in women with predominant stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

The study was a 6-week, double-blind, randomised, parallel, placebo-controlled study followed by an uncontrolled open-label extension (OLE) run in 342 study centres in 16 European countries. Women with predominant SUI were randomly assigned to placebo (n = 1380) or duloxetine 40 mg twice daily (n = 1378) for 6 weeks. Completers of the acute phase were enrolled in the OLE, which had a minimum duration of 6 weeks and ended, based on the approval status of duloxetine in the participating country.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The primary outcome measure was the change in incontinence episode frequency (IEF) over 6 weeks. Secondary outcome measures were the long-term maintenance of effect on IEF and Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I), the short- and long-term impact on quality of life using the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ), and the long-term safety of duloxetine.

RESULTS

After 6 weeks, the decrease in weekly IEF was significantly greater with duloxetine treatment compared to placebo (-50.0 vs. -29.9%; p < 0.001). The percentage of responders (defined as > or =50% decrease in IEF) was significantly higher with duloxetine treatment than with placebo (50.6 vs. 31.2%; p < 0.001). Duloxetine treatment was associated with improvements in weekly pad use (-31.4%), PGI-I ratings (63.6%), and KHQ score (-6.25) compared to placebo (-12.5%, 48.5% and -3.13, respectively, all p < 0.001). Treatment-emergent adverse events were significantly more common during duloxetine treatment (48.3%) than placebo (33.3%), (p < 0.001). Of the 2290 patients continuing into the OLE, 1165 (42.2%) completed the available duration, and 592 (21.5%) discontinued because of an adverse event (percentages relative to total randomised patients). Long-term efficacy in the OLE was assessed over a 72-week period and was maintained over that time. However, the results should be interpreted within the context that better responding patients are more likely to remain on duloxetine, while patients responding poorly are more likely to discontinue over time.

CONCLUSIONS

Duloxetine seems to be an efficacious treatment with an acceptable safety profile for women with SUI. Achieved improvement is maintained over the longer term in those women who remain on therapy.

Patient characteristics impacting health state index scores, measured by the EQ-5D of females with stress urinary incontinence symptoms

OBJECTIVE

To describe the characteristics of women seeking treatment for symptoms of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and to investigate the association of SUI symptoms with generic health-related quality of life (HRQoL) as measured by the EuroQol (EQ-5D) instrument.

METHODS

The Stress Urinary Incontinence Treatment (SUIT) study was a 12-month observational study in four European countries that evaluated the cost-effectiveness of duloxetine compared with other forms of nonsurgical intervention in the treatment of the symptoms of SUI. Four hundred thirty-one physicians observed women seeking treatment for their SUI, and recorded the care provided and the outcomes of that care at enrollment and at 3, 6 and 12 months afterward The impact of SUI on baseline HRQoL as expressed by the EQ-5D index score was assessed by linear and logistic regression.

RESULTS

Three thousand seven hundred sixty-two women were enrolled into SUIT, with the largest patient group from Germany. Overall, the majority of women were postmenopausal, had a mean age of 58.0 years, were not current smokers, and tended to be overweight (mean body mass index [BMI]=27.7 kg/m2), with at least one comorbidity. The health state index scores were significantly and independently influenced by the presence of comorbidity(ies) affecting quality of life, total number of stress and urge incontinence episodes, urinary incontinence subtype, comorbidity(ies) affecting incontinence, BMI, socioeconomic status, educational status, age, and country.

CONCLUSION

This article describes the characteristics of patients at the SUIT enrollment visit, and demonstrates that the number of incontinence episodes has a significant impact on the EQ-5D index score.

Neural control of the lower urinary tract: peripheral and spinal mechanisms

This review deals with individual components regulating the neural control of the urinary bladder. This article will focus on factors and processes involved in the two modes of operation of the bladder: storage and elimination. Topics included in this review include: (1) The urothelium and its roles in sensor and transducer functions including interactions with other cell types within the bladder wall ("sensory web"), (2) The location and properties of bladder afferents including factors involved in regulating afferent sensitization, (3) The neural control of the pelvic floor muscle and pharmacology of urethral and anal sphincters (focusing on monoamine pathways), (4) Efferent pathways to the urinary bladder, and (5) Abnormalities in bladder function including mechanisms underlying comorbid disorders associated with bladder pain syndrome and incontinence.

How are women with SUI-symptoms treated with duloxetine in real life practice? - preliminary results from a large observational study in Germany

BACKGROUND

Duloxetine was found safe and effective in the treatment of moderate to severe female stress urinary incontinence (SUI) in controlled clinical trials; complementary data from routine clinical practice are still wanted.

OBJECTIVES

To explore the use of various initial duloxetine doses by physicians in the treatment of female SUI in routine clinical practice and its implications on drug safety and patients' subjective impression of effectiveness.

METHODS

Adult women treated with duloxetine for SUI symptoms were documented as part of an ongoing large-scale observational study in Germany. Data collected at baseline, after 4 and 12 weeks, were evaluated by initial doses. Statistics were descriptive, 95% confidence intervals were calculated for adverse event (AE) rates.

RESULTS

A total of 7888 adult women were treated with duloxetine; their mean age was 61.4 years, body mass index 27 kg/m(2), incontinence episode frequency (IEF) 14.0 per week. Previous SUI treatments were observed in 52.2%, comorbidities in 60.4% of the patients. A total of 90.7% reported reduced frequency of SUI-episodes, 12.1% any AE; nausea (5.7%) and vertigo (1.6%) were reported most frequently. In all, 52.2% of patients were initiated on a duloxetine dose of 40 mg/day. Only minor differences in patient characteristics, effectiveness and tolerability were associated with varying initial duloxetine doses.

CONCLUSIONS

Many women received lower duloxetine doses than expected based on evidence-based dosing recommendations. Although SUI patients in this study had a higher health risk because of old age and multiple comorbidities than in previous controlled clinical trials, AE rates were lower, possibly because of the observational character of the study and/or the use of rather low doses. Similar AE rates for varying initial doses possibly reflect sensible dose-adjustment to individual needs.

[Conservative treatment of female stress urinary incontinence]

OBJECTIVES

To synthethise evidence based results related to non surgical management for urinary incontinence in women.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Electronic search in Pubmed, Cinahl, Cochrane Library, National Library for Health.

RESULTS

There were 72 randomized control studies and 8 reviews from the Cochrane Library.

CONCLUSION

Moderate to high levels of evidence suggest that pelvic muscle training and bladder training may resolve urinary incontinence in women. A weight loss program from obesity state improve urinary continence. The effects of electrical stimulation of pelvic floor, oestrogene therapy were inconstant or inhomogeneous. Duloxetine may improve continence and quality of life but it's range in therapeutic algorithm is still to be defined.

Medical management of stress urinary incontinence: is there a future?

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is a common problem among women worldwide. Multiple treatment modalities exist, ranging from physiotherapy to surgery. Numerous reports demonstrate mixed results for efficacy and safety of several oral agents used to treat SUI. Although there are data suggesting reasonable efficacy for several medications, surgery still remains the mainstay of treatment for most women. This article reviews the available oral agents that have been studied and assesses the data supporting their use while highlighting the limitations of each.

The medical management of urinary incontinence

Urinary incontinence is the involuntary leakage of urine; it affects millions of people worldwide, causing significant detrimental effects on their quality of life. Direct expenses, such as containment products, long-term drug prescriptions and surgery, complemented by indirect costs, such as reduced employment productivity, result in overall expenditure running to billions of dollars. Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) occurs on physical exertion, and results from weakness of the bladder outlet. Urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) results from inability to resist a sudden compelling desire to pass urine, arising as a consequence of bladder dysfunction. Clinical evaluation clarifies the underlying mechanisms and excludes diseases causing similar symptoms. Urodynamic studies to measure bladder and abdominal pressures and deduce the bladder and outlet function are undertaken when invasive treatments are being considered or when the nature of the incontinence is not entirely clear. Initial management of SUI involves pelvic floor muscle exercise training; if insufficient symptom improvement results, surgical measures are needed. UUI treatment commences with advice on suitable fluid intake and measures to improve ability to defer voiding, followed by antimuscarinic drugs. Refractory UUI is a difficult problem, currently managed with a range of surgical interventions, including bladder injections of botulinum-A neurotoxin, augmentation cystoplasty and nerve stimulation methods. New treatment options are needed, because of the risk of impeding voiding function, resulting in urinary retention. Persistent leakage is controlled with containment products, such as pads, or collection devices, such as catheters.

Measurement of urethral closure function in women with stress urinary incontinence

PURPOSE

We assessed the use of urethral pressure reflectometry in detecting pressure increases in the female urethra and compared the usefulness of urethral pressure reflectometry vs urethral pressure profilometry in a pharmacodynamic intervention study.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, crossover study 17 women with stress urinary incontinence or mixed urinary incontinence received 4 mg esreboxetine or placebo for 7 to 9 days followed by a washout period before crossing over treatments. Urethral pressure reflectometry and urethral pressure profilometry were performed before and at the end of each treatment period.

RESULTS

The urethral opening pressure measured with urethral pressure reflectometry increased significantly compared to placebo by 13.7 cm H(2)O (p <0.0001) with an observed within subject standard deviation of 5.4. The increase in maximum urethral closure pressure was 8.4 cm H(2)O compared to placebo (p = 0.06) and for maximum urethral pressure the increase was 9.9 cm H(2)O (p = 0.04). However, the within subject SD for these parameters was higher at 11.4 and 12.2, respectively, implying lower power for these analyses. While receiving esreboxetine patients had significantly fewer incontinence episodes and reported a treatment benefit (global impression of change) compared to placebo.

CONCLUSIONS

The opening pressure measured with urethral pressure reflectometry was less variable compared to the parameters measured with urethral pressure profilometry (maximum urethral closure pressure and maximum urethral pressure). Consequently using urethral pressure reflectometry would result in a more efficient study design when investigating pharmacological effects on the urethra in future studies. We also found that esreboxetine was well tolerated, and had a positive and clinically relevant effect on urethral closure function and symptoms of stress urinary incontinence.