BERKELEY, CA (UroToday.com) - Pelvic floor disorders (PFDs) such as stress urinary incontinence (SUI) and pelvic organ prolapse (POP) may share a common pathophysiological process related to pelvic floor tissue laxity and loss of support.
We reviewed recent literature on observed biochemical changes in women with SUI and POP, linking them to genetic predisposition. We found that studies of pelvic tissues showed differences between control subjects and women with POP and SUI in collagen and elastin structure at a molecular and fi brillar level. Studies were heterogeneous but showed a trend towards decreased collagen and elastin content. The contribution of matrix metalloproteinases to increased collagenolysis can be related to genetic polymorphisms present in higher frequency in women with PFD...View or save the full text Mini Review as a .pdf file
Lysanne Campeau, Ilya Gorbachinsky,* Gopal H. Badlani,* and Karl Erik Andersson
Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University , and * Department of Urology, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
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