THURSDAY, Oct. 21, 2004 (HealthDayNews) -- An implanted pacemaker that stimulates the sacral nerve and helps regulate the bladder offers a new treatment option for leaky bladders, a common problem of aging.
Bladder leakage can have a serious impact on a person's quality of life.
A recent study in the journal Urology examined the impact of sacral nerve stimulation on people with bladder problems. Patients who received sacral nerve stimulation had improved scores for depression and quality of life during the first three months after treatment. Those benefits were still evident after six months.
Patients who didn't receive the nerve stimulation treatment had slightly worse scores for depression and quality of life.
In the initial step of this treatment, a lead to the sacral nerve is connected to an external stimulator. If this approach leads to significant improvement in a patient, a pacemaker that stimulates the sacral nerve is implanted under the skin.
"The dramatic improvement seen in the quality of life scores of these patients is remarkable and reflects the importance of urinary problems for today's active patients, and that improving these problems results in a better quality of life," study author Dr. Anurag K. Das, a urologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said in a prepared statement.
More information
The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about urinary incontinence.
