Painkillers May Help Lessen Recurring Urinary Infections, Study

Over-the counter painkillers may help reduce recurrence of urinary tract infection, a new study reveals.

In a new study conducted on mice, researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, found that restraining an immune protein COX-2, that is known to cause inflammation, the recurrent urinary tract infections can be reduce drastically.  COX-2 is one of the proteins that are jammed by non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen.

 "If we can confirm this link in clinical trials, many people potentially could benefit very quickly," said Thomas Hannan, who presented the research. "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."

Urinary tract infection is the second-most common type of bacterial infection and nearly half of the women are known to suffer from this condition at some point in their lives.  Also nearly 20 -40 percent of the patients suffer from recurrent infections.  Serious complications arise when the condition is known to spread to the kidneys and into the bloodstream.

Prior to this, the same research team conducted another study on mice and found that the overreaction of the immune system to an initial infection may elevate the vulnerability to subsequent infections.

"We thought that the immune response was too weak in patients who kept getting urinary tract infections, but we are learning that an overly strong immune response can be just as problematic," Hannan said.

In the current study, the researchers found significant contributors to recurrent infection in both women and mice. They found the immune cells called neutrophils in women and mice are contributors to repeated infection.

By manipulating the strength of neutrophil, the researchers identified the region in mice that removed the urinary tract infection without triggering the risk of future infection.

The researchers noticed that the mice that were prone to repeated infection had excess inflammatory molecules present in their bladder compared to mice that were resistant to recurrent infections. On being treated with COX-2 inhibitor, the mice drastically reduced their susceptibility to infection.

The effect of COX-2 inhibition on the immune response in the bladder was examined. They noticed that neutrophils entered the bladder in massive number but triggered minute damage to the protective layer; due to this the COX-2 inhibitors can target the negative effects of inflammation while maintaining the other benefits.

"These are encouraging results, and we hope to verify the potential benefits of COX-2 inhibitors soon in a large clinical trial," said senior author Scott Hultgren from the Center for Women's Infectious Disease Research at Washington University.

The finding was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology.