UTI Keeps Returning? A Very Small Bladder Could Help

…and other items from this week’s health science news:

The world’s smallest bladder

First, why UTIs return: uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), the main cause of UTIs, can invade bladder cells and establish protected bacterial “reservoirs” deep within the bladder wall. These hidden bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment and later trigger another infection.

However, standard antibiotic testing typically examines bacteria in still, nutrient-rich liquid—which doesn’t mimic real life conditions much.

So, researchers (Dr. Jennifer Rohn et al.) have developed a human 3D “micro-bladder” that reproduces urine flow and bladder conditions more realistically than conventional laboratory tests. In particular, the micro-bladder showed that continuous urine flow and interaction with bladder tissue substantially change how UPEC behaves and responds to treatment.

This meant that, for example, nitrofurantoin, a commonly used UTI antibiotic, performed well in conventional lab testing but was unable to completely clear the infection in the more realistic micro-bladder model.

In contrast, further testing of the micro-bladder revealed that a cocktail of bacteriophages—viruses that specifically infect and destroy bacteria—was able to reduce the protected bacterial reservoirs inside the bladder wall, something the antibiotic did not accomplish as effectively.

Now, phages alone also struggled to completely clear bacteria under flowing conditions, but combining phages with the antibiotic produced better results, suggesting that the two treatments could potentially complement each other.

As an extra benefit, phage treatment also appeared to increase early immune signaling in the bladder tissue, including cytokines and chemokines that help coordinate inflammation and recruit immune cells.

Read in full: Lab-grown micro bladder helps explain why urinary tract infections return

Related: How To Avoid UTIs

Why alcohol-related cancer deaths have more than doubled

US cancer deaths attributed to alcohol increased from 11,361 in 1990 to 23,126 in 2023, according to an analysis of more than three decades of Global Burden of Disease data.

Nor was it just about liver cancers; alcohol was linked to deaths from breast, prostate, colorectal, stomach, pancreatic, liver, esophageal, and head-and-neck cancers.

Importantly, even low alcohol intake can effect this: increased cancer risk has been associated with approximately 5–15 grams of alcohol per day. A US standard drink contains 14 grams of pure alcohol, so one drink a day can fall within this range.

For what it’s worth, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, the same category that includes asbestos.

So if you wouldn’t willingly consume asbestos, you might want to rethink alcohol, if you otherwise drink that.

Read in full: Alcohol-related cancer deaths in US have more than doubled over three decades

Related: How Much Alcohol Does It Take To Increase Cancer Risk?

Don’t fall sick!

When kids get sick in the fall, it’s usually mostly not because of the change in season itself, or because their immune system functions less well at that time.

Rather, during summer vacation, children often spend more time outdoors and in smaller groups. When school starts, the number of close contacts rises sharply, increasing exposure to respiratory viruses.

Furthermore, earlier wake-up times, less sleep, changes in eating patterns, reduced outdoor time, and emotional stress from returning to school can affect overall well-being, but these changes do not necessarily weaken the immune system significantly.

That said, many different respiratory viruses can cause illness most easily in early fall (due to atmospheric changes making transmission easier), with RSV (colds) and influenza (flu) becoming increasingly important later in the fall and winter. Symptoms such as a runny nose, cough, sore throat, fatigue, poor appetite, and fever often overlap, making it difficult to identify the specific virus from symptoms alone.

Of course, adequate sleep, a varied diet, regular physical activity, good hydration, outdoor time, thorough handwashing, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding shared water bottles or utensils can all help reduce infection risk, so those are all great things to do.

In terms of what not to do, although exposure to certain pathogens can create immune memory, respiratory viruses are numerous and can mutate rapidly. Repeated respiratory infections therefore do not provide a reliable immune-strengthening benefit.

Instead, vaccines offer safer, more targeted protection against preventable infections than deliberately experiencing illnesses.

Read in full: Kids don’t get sick in the fall because their immune systems are weakened, says specialist

Related: The Cold Truth About Respiratory Infections

Take care!