KFO 273: Therapy of Urinary Incontinence by Cell-based Regeneration of the Sphincter Muscle of the Urethra

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Urinary incontinence is defined as frequent involuntary loss of urine. Mild forms of incontinence lead to social problems, while more severe forms result in serious health problems. In Germany costs for auxiliary devices to cope with urinary incontinence exceed half a billion euros annually. For the most common cause of urinary incontinence, stress incontinence (SUI), there is no sustainable curative treatment so far. SUI is caused by a weakness or malfunction of the urethral sphincter. The Clinical Research Unit will explore various aspects of a possible curative, cell-based therapy to strengthen the weakened urethral sphincter. We focus on three main clinical questions: (1) Can cells or implants be accurately administered in the urethral sphincter and can this process be controlled intraoperatively? (2) Do the applied cells integrate physiologically in the muscle and do they connect to the neuronal control systems? (3) Do the applied cells remain vital after injection and what is their regenerative potential in time? In five interacting projects and two cross-sectional projects within the Clinical Research Unit the following research programme will be implemented: (A) The selection and preparation of cells suitable for regeneration of a degenerated or damaged sphincter muscle, (B) The development of gentle but precise surgical methods and application technologies for cells, (C) The development of an accurate imaging method for the navigation of the application equipment, (D) The development of techniques for the detection of cells after their injection and methods for medium-term follow-up in a pre-clinical model, (E) The development of improved and more sensitive sensors for urodynamic measurements and for measuring muscle strength.