An herbal extract, forskolin, which is currently sold as an aid for allergy or fat loss treatment, may be beneficial for patients with bladder infections when taken in combination with antibiotics, say researchers from Duke, University, USA.
You can read about this new researcher in the journal Nature Medicine.
The majority of infections of the bladder are caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli). Women are much more susceptible to bladder infections than men – in fact, bladder infections can come back again and again.
The lining of the bladder has some small pouches. It is in these very pouches that E. coli hides and avoids contact with antibiotics. The researchers found that forskolin moves the E. coli out of the pouches so that the antibiotics can destroy them. The scientists said that the combination of antibiotics with forskolin may prove an extremely effective treatment for urinary tract infection.
Urinary tract infection requires rapid treatment to prevent the infection from reaching the kidneys.
The researchers say they now plan to carry out further studies with larger animals. Should further animals studies go according to plan, they believe it will not be long before human clinical trials can take place.
“Cyclic AMP – regulated exocytosis of Escherichia coli from infected bladder epithelial cells”
Brian L Bishop, Mathew J Duncan, Jeongmin Song, Guojie Li, David Zaas & Soman N Abraham
Nature Medicine – Published online: 8 April 2007; doi:10.1038/nm1572
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today