Women’s Urology Research
The Women’s Urology Center, a dedicated 4,200-square-foot, $1.6 million eco-friendly center on the Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital campus, provides urological care and offers research options for a variety of conditions the affect women. The funding also supports ongoing research to advance women’s urology and improve care for women.
Pudendal Nerve Stimulation
Beaumont developed a technique to place an electrode at the pudendal nerve, located in the pelvis near the tailbone, to treat bladder and bowel dysfunction. Efficacy was shown in a randomized crossover clinical trial of pudendal vs. sacral stimulation for voiding dysfunction. We have been the leading center for pudendal implants in the United States. Patients and physicians have traveled from across the world to either receive an implant or learn the technique.
Tibial Nerve Stimulation for Overactive Bladder
This trial provided Level I evidence that tibial nerve stimulation is an effective and durable treatment for patients with overactive bladder (OAB). Currently, the team is researching less invasive, non-needle methods of tibial nerve stimulation that potentially could be used at home.
Cavernous Nerve Stimulation for Erectile Dysfunction
Beaumont researchers have obtained FDA approval to study the impact of placing an electrode at the cavernous nerve after prostatectomy. The goal is to enhance neural recovery and elicit on-demand erection by stimulating the electrode during the six weeks following radical prostatectomy. There is hope that this novel research study will lead to the development of an implantable device that can be marketed for use to physicians.
Nerve Rerouting to Restore Bladder Function in Spina Bifida
Our center was the first in North America to study the concept of rerouting a nerve from the leg to the bladder in catheter-dependent patients with myelomeningocele. At 36 months after rerouting, 66 percent of the patients were able to void on their own while maintaining stable renal function and discontinuing antimuscarinics. This preliminary data led to a multi-million dollar NIH grant to gain longer term data on sphincter reinnervation and possible changes in the areas of the brain involved in voiding.
Adult Human Stem Cells for Stress Urinary Incontinence
Corewell Health William Beaumont University Hospital was the first center in the United States to use a person’s own cells to treat refractory stress urinary incontinence (SUI). SUI, the cause of urinary leakage with coughing or physical activity, affects about 13 million Americans, most of them women, but also men who have had prostatectomy (surgery for prostate cancer). Current treatments, including medicine, exercises and surgery, are not always effective and may have undesirable side effects. The cells are used to strengthen weak muscles that control urination. Muscle tissue that was obtained from the thigh is grown in culture to obtain the cells that are then injected back into the urinary sphincter. Over 80 women have been treated with excellent results at 12 months and the findings have been published in the Journal of Urology.
Urine, Serum, and Tissue Biobanking
With the ongoing collection of urine, serum and tissue from patients with interstitial cystitis, chronic pelvic pain and other conditions, we have identified unique biomarkers that define subsets of interstitial cystitis/chronic pain to improve diagnosis and treatment. Investigations have also shown that patients responding to certain therapies such as neuromodulation have normalization of specific biomarkers associated with symptom improvement. By examining biological specimens, we are actively studying a specific tumor marker for kidney cancer that may result in a screening test for this often fatal disease.