Prasterone Studied for Treatment of Urinary Urge Incontinence

MONDAY, Aug. 1, 2022 (HealthDay News) -- For postmenopausal women, vaginal administration of prasterone seems to lessen the severity of urinary urge incontinence, according to a study published in the August issue of Menopause.

Claudia Collà Ruvolo, M.D., from the University of Naples "Federico II" in Italy, and colleagues conducted an observational prospective cohort study involving 58 postmenopausal women with symptoms of mild-to-moderate urinary urgency who were enrolled from December 2019 to May 2021. Twenty-nine women were treated with prasterone, and 29 were treated with hyaluronic acid (a vaginal lubricant), each for 12 weeks.

The researchers found that at the end of the study, 89.7 and 10.3 percent of those receiving prasterone and hyaluronic acid reported an improvement of symptoms (Patient Global Impression of Improvement score ≤3). No statistically significant difference was recorded before treatment between the groups in the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form, while after treatment, there was a significantly lower median score recorded in the prasterone group versus the hyaluronic acid group (8 versus 10). Before and after treatment, there was a significantly lower median score recorded in the prasterone group versus hyaluronic acid group according to the International Quality of Life (before, 73 versus 89; after, 78 versus 87).

"Our study showed a significantly superior effect of prasterone over a vaginal lubricant in improving the symptoms of urinary urge incontinence, which is in agreement with the previous literature," the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies.

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