The findings, which are reported in BJU International for March, are based on a study of 12 women with urge incontinence and 12 women with urge and stress incontinence who were treated with FMS.

FMS was delivered with Neocontrol, a treatment chair produced by Marietta, Georgia-based device company Neotonus. The chair features an electromagnetic generator in the seat and dials for controlling the frequency and amplitude of the magnetic pulse. The patients underwent 20-minute treatments twice weekly for 8 weeks.

Six women with urge incontinence and eight with mixed incontinence experienced an objective improvement in their incontinence, lead author Dr. D. D. Chandi and colleagues, from the Leyenburg Hospital in The Hague, note. Three patients were totally dry and 17 experienced subjective improvements. No serious adverse effects were reported.

"FMS is a safe, noninvasive, and painless treatment for urinary incontinence," the investigators note. "Follow-up studies are needed to evaluate the long-term efficacy and to determine if continuous treatments are necessary."

BJU Int 2004;93:539-542.

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