Monday, April 16, 2012

Perhaps the bladder is not sterile after all.


Medscape (4/14, Laidman) reported, "The bladder holds a world of bacteria that do not show up in standard cultures, regardless of whether a woman has symptoms of a urinary tract infection," according to a study published in the April issue of the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. "The results of the research...appears to unseat a long-held belief that the bladder is sterile, suggesting instead that bacterial communities are as normal in the bladder as in other parts of the body. The study further implies that some urinary tract infections go undiscovered and untreated," Medscape noted.