Painkillers can prevent the recurrence of urinary tract infections in women, according to a study.
Lind kidney infections categorized by painful and frequent urinations are more common in women due a number of reasons like their anatomy, sexual intercourse, pregnancy and use of intimate hygiene products. Experts at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis found the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and pain killer drugs like ibuprofen can suppress an inflammatory protein- COX-2 that causes UTI. They created a rodent model to determine reactions that cause repeated infections and identify methods to control it.
In their past trials, researchers noted overactive immune responses during the first episode of infection increase susceptibility for frequent infections. The current experiment points at immune cells called neutrophils that excessively damage bladder linings while destroying bacteria paving way for further severe infections. For the study, experts altered the potency of neutrophils' response to UTI in mice's bladder that was neither too weak nor too strong.
It was observed that mice that repeatedly experienced infections had more number of inflammatory molecules in their bladder compared to infection resistant mice. When the mice were given pain killer drugs, the inflammatory reaction of COX-2 and other risk factors for UTI were significantly reduced.
In addition, it was noted even after administering painkiller medications, the neutrophils entered the bladder in large quantities but the damage was controlled by drug reaction and targeted only specific areas having inflammation.
"These are encouraging results, and we hope to verify the potential benefits of COX-2 inhibitors soon in a large clinical trial," said Scott Hultgren, senior author and researcher at Washington University in a news release.
The authors believe the results will help develop new methods to reduce the risk of persistent infections but will not replace the traditional antibiotic treatment.
"If we can confirm this link in clinical trials, many people potentially could benefit very quickly," said Thomas Hannan, study author and research instructor in pathology and immunology at Washington University.
"But for now, it's important to remember that urinary tract infections are serious, and antibiotic treatment is often necessary. Patients should not treat these infections on their own without help from a medical provider."
The research was presented at the general meeting of American Society for Microbiologists in Boston.