The Estrogen Impact on Overactive Bladder Syndrome: Female Pelvic Floor Microbiomes and Antimicrobial Peptides

Overactive Bladder Clinical Trial

Official title:

The Estrogen Impact on Overactive Bladder Syndrome: Female Pelvic Floor Microbiomes and Antimicrobial Peptides

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02524769
• Other study ID #: 207152
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: December 2015
• Est. completion date: June 2017

Study information

• Verified date: March 2021
• Source: Loyola University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The medical field is beginning to adopt treatments that alter an individual's microbiome to improve patient health; however, this approach has not been adopted for treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Here, the investigators propose the first step in development of such a therapy. If the investigators hypothesis is correct, the investigators could change the first line of treatment for hypoestrogenic women and develop future therapies that modulate bacteria in the bladder to improve not only LUTS but also treatment response. This could lead to the first treatment for lower urinary disorders that incorporates a person's individual microbiome.

Description:

Overactive bladder (OAB) syndrome is characterized by the symptom complex of urinary urgency, usually with associated frequency and nocturia, with or without urgency urinary incontinence in the absence of infection or other pathology. Vaginal estrogen, a well-documented treatment for OAB in hypoestrogenic women, has been shown to improve symptoms of frequency, urgency and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI). Several theories have been proposed to explain the mechanism underlying estrogen's effect on lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). Investigators propose that estrogen treatment influences bacterial communities (microbiomes) in the vagina and bladder and alters urothelial and vaginal (AMPs); thereby improving OAB symptoms in hypoestrogenic women.

Long-standing medical dogma has been replaced by clear evidence that a female urinary microbiome (FUM) exists.This suggests that the FUM is a factor in lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and that FUM diversity contributes to LUTS and treatment response, like the vaginal microbiome and its contribution to vaginal symptoms.

In hypoestrogenic women, the vaginal microbiome shifts from low diversity communities, commonly dominated by Lactobacillus, to more diverse communities dominated by anaerobes; this change can be reversed with estrogen treatment. Since the FUM of women with OAB includes bacteria similar to those of the vaginal microbiome (e.g. Lactobacillus, Gardnerella, and diverse anaerobes), investigators reason the FUM would respond similarly to estrogen and become less diverse. While almost nothing is known about urinary/vaginal microbiome interplay, even less is known about immune response modulation in the bladder and vagina. However, estrogen reduces the subsequent urinary tract infection (UTI) rate in hypoestrogenic women affected by recurrent UTI, and estrogen induces urothelial antimicrobial peptide (AMP) expression. Since AMPs exhibit microbicidal activity, stimulate inflammation, and facilitate epithelial barrier homeostasis, estrogen may work through AMPs as mediators to optimize microbial equilibrium.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 27
• Est. completion date: June 2017
• Est. primary completion date: November 2016
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 55 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of Overactive bladder

• Clinical diagnosis of Postmenopausal:

• English language skills sufficient to complete questionnaires

• Clinical indication for vaginal estrogen use

• Not currently receiving vaginal estrogen therapy

Exclusion Criteria:

• Currently on systemic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) Have been on HRT within the past three months

• Clinical diagnosis of estrogen dependent malignancies

• Allergy to local estrogen therapy

• Insufficient language skills to complete study questionnaires

• Women with active, urinary tract infection

• Received antibiotics within the past two weeks

• Clinical diagnosis of stage 3 or 4 pelvic organ prolapse

• Patient unwilling to use vaginal estrogen preparation

• Currently on anticholinergic medication Have received anticholinergic medication within the past three months

• Previously failed two medications for treatment of OAB Previously received intra-vesicle botulinum toxin injections Previously had posterior tibial nerve stimulation Previously had implantation of sacral neuromodulator

• Patients wishing to start anticholinergic medication at the initial encounter

• Undiagnosed abnormal genital bleeding

• Clinical diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) Clinical diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE)

• Clinical diagnosis of arterial thromboembolic disease

• Clinical diagnosis of liver dysfunction or disease

• Clinical diagnosis of protein C, protein S or antithrombin or deficiency other known thrombophilic disorders

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Overactive Bladder
• Urinary Bladder, Overactive

Intervention

Drug:
• conjugated estrogen
0.625 mg conjugated estrogen/gram and instructions to use 0.5 grams twice weekly with the applicator.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Loyola University Medical Center	Maywood	Illinois

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Loyola University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (16)

Brading AF. A myogenic basis for the overactive bladder. Urology. 1997 Dec;50(6A Suppl):57-67; discussion 68-73. Review. — View Citation

Brotman RM, Shardell MD, Gajer P, Fadrosh D, Chang K, Silver MI, Viscidi RP, Burke AE, Ravel J, Gravitt PE. Association between the vaginal microbiota, menopause status, and signs of vulvovaginal atrophy. Menopause. 2014 May;21(5):450-8. doi: 10.1097/GME.0b013e3182a4690b. — View Citation

Coyne K, Revicki D, Hunt T, Corey R, Stewart W, Bentkover J, Kurth H, Abrams P. Psychometric validation of an overactive bladder symptom and health-related quality of life questionnaire: the OAB-q. Qual Life Res. 2002 Sep;11(6):563-74. — View Citation

Eriksen PS, Rasmussen H. Low-dose 17 beta-estradiol vaginal tablets in the treatment of atrophic vaginitis: a double-blind placebo controlled study. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 1992 Apr 21;44(2):137-44. — View Citation

Fok CS, McKinley K, Mueller ER, Kenton K, Schreckenberger P, Wolfe A, Brubaker L. Day of surgery urine cultures identify urogynecologic patients at increased risk for postoperative urinary tract infection. J Urol. 2013 May;189(5):1721-4. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2012.11.167. Epub 2012 Dec 3. — View Citation

Griebling TL, Liao Z, Smith PG. Systemic and topical hormone therapies reduce vaginal innervation density in postmenopausal women. Menopause. 2012 Jun;19(6):630-5. doi: 10.1097/gme.0b013e31823b8983. — View Citation

Hilt EE, McKinley K, Pearce MM, Rosenfeld AB, Zilliox MJ, Mueller ER, Brubaker L, Gai X, Wolfe AJ, Schreckenberger PC. Urine is not sterile: use of enhanced urine culture techniques to detect resident bacterial flora in the adult female bladder. J Clin Microbiol. 2014 Mar;52(3):871-6. doi: 10.1128/JCM.02876-13. Epub 2013 Dec 26. — View Citation

Khasriya R, Sathiananthamoorthy S, Ismail S, Kelsey M, Wilson M, Rohn JL, Malone-Lee J. Spectrum of bacterial colonization associated with urothelial cells from patients with chronic lower urinary tract symptoms. J Clin Microbiol. 2013 Jul;51(7):2054-62. doi: 10.1128/JCM.03314-12. Epub 2013 Apr 17. — View Citation

Nelken RS, Ozel BZ, Leegant AR, Felix JC, Mishell DR Jr. Randomized trial of estradiol vaginal ring versus oral oxybutynin for the treatment of overactive bladder. Menopause. 2011 Sep;18(9):962-6. doi: 10.1097/gme.0b013e3182104977. — View Citation

Pearce MM, Hilt EE, Rosenfeld AB, Zilliox MJ, Thomas-White K, Fok C, Kliethermes S, Schreckenberger PC, Brubaker L, Gai X, Wolfe AJ. The female urinary microbiome: a comparison of women with and without urgency urinary incontinence. mBio. 2014 Jul 8;5(4):e01283-14. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01283-14. — View Citation

Rahn DD, Ward RM, Sanses TV, Carberry C, Mamik MM, Meriwether KV, Olivera CK, Abed H, Balk EM, Murphy M; Society of Gynecologic Surgeons Systematic Review Group. Vaginal estrogen use in postmenopausal women with pelvic floor disorders: systematic review and practice guidelines. Int Urogynecol J. 2015 Jan;26(1):3-13. doi: 10.1007/s00192-014-2554-z. Epub 2014 Nov 13. Review. — View Citation

Ravel J, Gajer P, Abdo Z, Schneider GM, Koenig SS, McCulle SL, Karlebach S, Gorle R, Russell J, Tacket CO, Brotman RM, Davis CC, Ault K, Peralta L, Forney LJ. Vaginal microbiome of reproductive-age women. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Mar 15;108 Suppl 1:4680-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1002611107. Epub 2010 Jun 3. — View Citation

Raz R. Urinary tract infection in postmenopausal women. Korean J Urol. 2011 Dec;52(12):801-8. doi: 10.4111/kju.2011.52.12.801. Epub 2011 Dec 20. — View Citation

Stewart WF, Van Rooyen JB, Cundiff GW, Abrams P, Herzog AR, Corey R, Hunt TL, Wein AJ. Prevalence and burden of overactive bladder in the United States. World J Urol. 2003 May;20(6):327-36. Epub 2002 Nov 15. — View Citation

Tseng LH, Wang AC, Chang YL, Soong YK, Lloyd LK, Ko YJ. Randomized comparison of tolterodine with vaginal estrogen cream versus tolterodine alone for the treatment of postmenopausal women with overactive bladder syndrome. Neurourol Urodyn. 2009;28(1):47-51. doi: 10.1002/nau.20583. — View Citation

Wolfe AJ, Toh E, Shibata N, Rong R, Kenton K, Fitzgerald M, Mueller ER, Schreckenberger P, Dong Q, Nelson DE, Brubaker L. Evidence of uncultivated bacteria in the adult female bladder. J Clin Microbiol. 2012 Apr;50(4):1376-83. doi: 10.1128/JCM.05852-11. Epub 2012 Jan 25. — View Citation

* Note: There are 16 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in the Relative Abundance of Lactobacillus	The relative abundance of Lactobacillus to total microbes per sample was measured before and after treatment. The within-participant change in relative abundance of Lactobacillus was calculated subtracting pre-treatment from post-treatment.	0, 12 weeks
Secondary	Change in OAB Symptoms	OAB symptoms are measured using the Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (OAB-q). The OAB-q symptom score ranges from 0-100 with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity. A change score is calculated as the post-treatment score minus the pre-treatment score.	0, 12 weeks
Secondary	OAB Symptoms Associated With Relative Abundance of Lactobacillus	The investigators will determine whether change in OAB symptoms using the OAB-q before and after treatment is associated with the change in participants' relative abundance of Lactobacillus before and after treatment. The OAB-q symptom score ranges from 0-100 with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.	0, 12 weeks
Secondary	Change in Urothelial Antimicrobial Peptide (AMP) Levels	The investigators will compare participants' AMP levels before and after treatment. AMP activity level is measured as bacterial growth inhibition in square millimeters normalized to the total peptide bond concentration. Change is calculated as the post-treatment AMP level minus the pre-treatment AMP level.	0, 12 weeks
Secondary	Change in OAB Symptoms Associated With Change in AMP Levels	The investigators will determine whether any change in OAB symptoms using the OAB-q before and after treatment is associated with the change in participants' AMP levels before and after treatment. AMP activity level is measured as bacterial growth inhibition in square millimeters normalized to the total peptide bond concentration. The OAB-q symptom score ranges from 0-100 with higher scores indicating greater symptom severity.	0, 12 weeks