Research Projects
OPAL– Organ Prolapse and Levator
Do Women with Prolapse Have Levator Ani Impairment?
Mechanisms of Vaginal Wall Support Failure
Sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development R01HD38665
Pelvic organ prolapse is a condition where the pelvic organs (the bladder, uterus, vagina and/or rectum) fall downward and bulge out through the opening of the vagina. We will recruit 300 women for a National Institutes of Health study concerning pelvic organ prolapse – 150 who have this condition and 150 who do not. We are studying women between the ages of 40 and 80 with good bladder control. The commitment involves two study visits to the University of Michigan Medical Campus in Ann Arbor that will take approximately one hour each. Each participant will be asked to fill out a questionnaire and undergo a series of clinical bladder tests, a brief pelvic examination and an MRI scan. Each woman will receive up to $200 for her time. IRBMED# 1999-0395. For further information and/or to enroll, call 800-742-2300, #2212 or e-mail: OPAL@umich.edu
IRIS – Incontinence Research and Intervention Study
SCOR Project 3: Selection criteria for pelvic muscle therapy
in SUI
Sponsored by NICHD 1P50HD04406
Stress urinary incontinence is a condition of urine loss that occurs with coughing, sneezing or exercising. We will recruit 320 women for a National Institute of Health study on the treatment of SUI. We are looking for women 20 years old or older who experience even minor loss of urine with coughing, sneezing or exercise.
The commitment involves two to four study visits to the University of Michigan School of Nursing in Ann Arbor over a one-year period. Each participant will receive an evaluation of the pelvic physical structures that can destabilize and cause incontinence, as well as instruction in self-care practices for treating incontinence. No drugs are used. Each participant will also be asked to fill out brief questionnaires and a three-day diary of toileting and fluid habits before the clinic visit. Each woman will receive $20 for the first visit and $10 for each additional visit required, along with free parking. The first visit involves a commitment of approximately one hour and 30 minutes, with follow-up visits of less than 30 minutes each. IRBMED# 2002-0635.
For further information:
- Visit the IRIS Web site
- Call 734-763-4884
- E-mail: IRISSTUDY@umich.edu
EMRLD – Evaluating Maternal Recovery from Labor and Delivery
Maternal Birth-Related Neuromuscular Injury and Recovery
Sponsored by NICHD 1R21HD04981801
The goal of the study is to determine how women physiologically recover from childbirth according to degree of tissue injury. This knowledge may be useful in determining the best prevention and treatment for urinary leakage and pelvic organ prolapse following childbirth.
Initial recruitment will be 20 primiparous women at increased risk for pubococcygeal muscle (or PCM) injury from a delivery at the University of Michigan Women's Hospital. Eligibility criteria includes a delivery that involved forceps or vacuum, third- or fourth-degree perineal tears, or long duration of the second stage of labor. MRI’s will be obtained at two weeks and six months postpartum. Two study visits (six weeks and six months postpartum) will be conducted at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. At the six-month postpartum visit, functional PCM testing will be performed by quantifying PCM strength (instrumented speculum), pelvic organ support (pelvic organ prolapse quantification) and incontinence (standard urodynamic and survey measures). The initial recruitment will generate pilot data aimed at testing the relationship between injury type and pelvic floor function. Our long-term goal is prevention and treatment of incontinence and prolapse, with care based on an improved understanding of the injury responsible for the pathology. IRBMED# 2005-0011.
Subject recruitment is by physician or midwife referral only.
