Scientists from Germany and Austria have successfully used muscle-derived stem cells to repair damage to the urinary sphincter that causes incontinence.

Certain medical procedures, including transurethral resection of the prostate and radical prostatectomy can result in damage to the external urinary sphincter. In one study, a German research team successfully implanted muscle cells grown from tissue from the patients' deltoid muscles into the damaged sphincter. One year later, four patients were completely continent and 19 patients had improved from grade III to grade I incontinence. With more than half of the patients experiencing an improvement in continence after four months, the use of muscle-derived cells to repair sphincter damage proved successful. Minor side effects were observed in five patients.

A second trial conducted in Austria involving 65 incontinent men who had undergone a prostatectomy showed positive results using muscle cells collected from the upper arms of the patients.

Both studies ahve been published recently in the Journal of Urology.

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