Stem Cell Therapy for Female Urinary Incontinence

Both stress and urge urinary incontinence affect a significant proportion of women, yet the treatment options currently available may lack long-term effectiveness or may be associated with significant adverse events limiting their use. Thus, novel treatment options are needed. Stem cells, with the ability to transform intomultiple cell types or to self-renew, have been proposed as a potential treatment option for both stress and urge incontinence. The majority of research has been performed in animal models and has shown that urethral or intradetrusor injection of various types of stem cells improves surrogate markers of incontinence. Although many of these studies have shown promising effects, significant research is still needed before translating these findings into clinical practice.