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At the risk of repeating myself I am posting a relatively new finding showing that E. coli can form biofilms in the bladder. Here is an article from a recent journal, Public Library of Science and Medicine.(PLoS)
http://www.biofilmsonline.com/cgi-bi...msonline/00448
The work was performed by the Washington Univ lab of Dr. Scott Hultgren, one of the leading researchers of UTI's. Ten years ago he began to find that E.coli form "pods" in the bladder, otherwise known as IBC's, Intracellular Bacterial Commnities. They invade bladder wall cells and "hide" from detection and treatment. When some emerge into the bladder they can be treated with antibiotics, but the antibiotics to not penetrate to eradicate all the bacteria hidden in the pods and thus other bacteria can cause recurring infections. (Others have found that bacteria in the bladder can go into a dormant state called Viable but Non-culturable (VBNC), which is another way they can avoid detection.)
Now, they have have determined that these are actually biofilms, a common strategy bacteria use to evade detection and treatment all through nature. They are common on indwelling catheters, for instance. They can form in wound infections, ear infections, sinus infections, etc. But they were not suspected in the bladder UTIs until recently. This explains why many have recurring UTIs, even though they treat each one and can become symptom free.
There is also literature showing that Enterococci (form of Strep) can cause biofilms in the bladder. Furthermore, they found that the biofilms can contain any one or many different species of UTI bacteria like Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Staph, etc. These, too, can cause recurrent UTIs. A Japanese group found this several years ago but it was little noticed:
http://escholarship.lib.okayama-u.ac...97&context=amo
This opens up the medical community to an understanding of why UTI's reoccur so often. Scientists estimate that about half of all women in the US will suffer from a UTI and that 20-40% of these women will have recurring infections.
So far there is no known way to penetrate or break up a biofilm in the bladder but with the current finding and with so many affected let us hope that research will be hastened.
http://www.biofilmsonline.com/cgi-bi...msonline/00448
The work was performed by the Washington Univ lab of Dr. Scott Hultgren, one of the leading researchers of UTI's. Ten years ago he began to find that E.coli form "pods" in the bladder, otherwise known as IBC's, Intracellular Bacterial Commnities. They invade bladder wall cells and "hide" from detection and treatment. When some emerge into the bladder they can be treated with antibiotics, but the antibiotics to not penetrate to eradicate all the bacteria hidden in the pods and thus other bacteria can cause recurring infections. (Others have found that bacteria in the bladder can go into a dormant state called Viable but Non-culturable (VBNC), which is another way they can avoid detection.)
Now, they have have determined that these are actually biofilms, a common strategy bacteria use to evade detection and treatment all through nature. They are common on indwelling catheters, for instance. They can form in wound infections, ear infections, sinus infections, etc. But they were not suspected in the bladder UTIs until recently. This explains why many have recurring UTIs, even though they treat each one and can become symptom free.
There is also literature showing that Enterococci (form of Strep) can cause biofilms in the bladder. Furthermore, they found that the biofilms can contain any one or many different species of UTI bacteria like Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Staph, etc. These, too, can cause recurrent UTIs. A Japanese group found this several years ago but it was little noticed:
http://escholarship.lib.okayama-u.ac...97&context=amo
This opens up the medical community to an understanding of why UTI's reoccur so often. Scientists estimate that about half of all women in the US will suffer from a UTI and that 20-40% of these women will have recurring infections.
So far there is no known way to penetrate or break up a biofilm in the bladder but with the current finding and with so many affected let us hope that research will be hastened.
Volunteers are not medical authorities nor do we offer medical advice. In all cases, we strongly encourage you to discuss your medical treatment with your personal medical care provider. Only they can, and should, give medical recommendations to you.
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