http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011218/hl/infection_1.html
Tuesday December 18 1:13 PM ET
By Anne Harding
CHICAGO (Reuters Health) - An experimental vaccine given vaginally may help prevent
urinary tract infections (UTIs), a small study presented here Monday at the
Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy demonstrates.
The findings provide some hope to the 10% to 15% of women who have recurrent
bladder infections, which are also a problem for some children.
Many of these women must stay on preventive antibiotic treatment for months
or even years, noted study author Dr. Walter Hopkins of the University of
Wisconsin in Madison, who has been researching UTI vaccines for 15 years.
A problem with this long-term antibiotic use is that resistance can develop.
``Some women,'' Hopkins said, ``run down the list of antibiotics that are
available and eventually run out of options.''
Hopkins presented findings on the vaccine--a vaginal suppository containing
10 types of heat-inactivated bacteria that commonly infect the urinary
tract--at a press conference here Monday.
The vaccine works by building immunity within the mucosal tissue, which
lines the vagina and the urinary tract.
While doctors gave the women the vaccine in the study, Hopkins noted, the
goal is for women to administer it themselves. The suppository is inserted into
the vagina, where it melts, distributing the vaccine.
In the new study, 18 women received three weekly doses of the vaccine,
followed by three monthly booster doses. Another 18 received inactive
treatment, or placebo, while a third group of 18 received a combination of
vaccine and placebo.
Among the women given all six doses of the vaccine, half stayed UTI-free for
6 months after the start of the study, compared with 20% of those on placebo.
The benefits of the vaccine began to decline about 2 months after women had
their last dose, Hopkins said, so subsequent studies will look at extending the
monthly boosters for a longer period.
Longer, multi-site research is planned, and the Cincinnati-based company
Protein Express has received a license from the Food and Drug Administration (news
- web
sites) to manufacture the vaccine for these trials.
Hopkins told Reuters Health that the vaginal suppository vaccine could reach
the market in 3 to 5 years.
Email
this story - View
most popular | Printer-friendly
format
ALL
INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.