There is exciting news for those who suffer from stress incontinence. Stress incontinence occurs as the result of some form of “stress” on the bladder, such as coughing, sneezing, lifting heavy objects, exercising, or even laughter. Stress incontinence is the result of weakened pelvic muscles or bladder musculature.

Autologous muscle cell injections are being used to treat stress urinary incontinence. Muscle cells are taken from a person’s own muscle, generally in the thigh, and are transplanted into the urethral sphincter at key spots. Because the muscle cells come from the person’s own body, there is no risk of rejection. There may be some discomfort at the injection site.

Best of all, results of a study of 29 women in the US showed that quality of life was vastly improved following the injections, with 68% of the study participants experiencing an improved quality of life 3 months after the injection. Researchers intend to expand the study to include a wider range of patients. Autologous muscle cell injections can be done on an outpatient basis with no restriction on activity following the injection. A report of this research was made at the American Urological Association (AUA) 104th Annual Scientific Meeting (Abstract 1526. Presented April 28, 2009).