Biomedical engineers at Duke University have developed a tablet-based vaccine for urinary tract infections (UTIs) that rapidly dissolves when placed under the tongue.
The new treatment could offer an easy and practical alternative to high-dose, oral antibiotics.
More than half of all women experience a UTI, and they pose a significant risk for patients who require a catheter. While UTIs often cause pain and discomfort, organ damage and even sepsis can also occur if the infection reaches the kidneys.
These infections can be resolved with oral antibiotics, but some patients face recurrent UTIs, requiring prolonged, repeated antibiotic use.
This extended antibiotic use negatively affects the patient’s microbiome, as the antibiotics also kill helpful bacteria, creating an environment for antibiotic-resistant bacteria to thrive. Today, many strains of bacteria that cause UTIs have become increasingly resistant to several of the antibiotics commonly used to treat these infections.
To address this, a team of collaborators developed a vaccine that can be absorbed under the tongue and activates key immune cells to precisely attack UTI-causing bacteria.
Image credit | Duke-University
