Urinary track infections (UTIs) are common among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). I’ve been lucky to have had only 1 or 2 over the 4 decades I’ve lived with MS, but many others are not as fortunate.
According to the Urinary Care Foundation, about 10 out of 25 women and 3 out of 25 men will experience a UTI in their lifetime. A review of a decade of journal articles, published in the in the November 2022 issue of Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, concluded that “UTI represents a great risk and concern in MS patients. The high prevalence, hospitalization rate, and mortality rate of UTI in MS is worrying…”
Yet, the handing of UTIs by healthcare providers seems to be more reactive than proactive, treating rather than preventing. Now, an oral spray vaccine is being developed that may change that equation. Its developers say it may protect against UTIs for several years between doses.
An encouraging report
MV140 is a bacterial vaccine that contains four bacterial species suspended in pineapple-flavored water. Two squirts were sprayed under the tongue of test subjects, once a day for 3 months.
A preliminary report on a long term follow-up to the original 2017 study, presented at April’s Association of Urology Congress, says MV140 kept 54% of study participants UTI-free for up to nine years, with no notable side effects reported. This was true for both men and women. Participants who reported they continued to have UTIs said they had fewer, and they were less severe. Many said they could treat the infection by simply drinking more water. (Full study results are expected by the end of 2024.)
A game changer?
“This is a very easy vaccine to administer and could be given by GPs as a 3-month course, according to study co-researcher Dr Bob Yang, Consultant Urologist at the U.K.’s Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. “Many of our participants told us that having the vaccine restored their quality of life. While we’re yet to look at the effect of this vaccine in different patient groups, this follow-up data suggests it could be a game changer for UTI prevention if it’s offered widely, reducing the need for antibiotic treatments.”
But, MV140 isn’t available in the U.S. or Canada and no further research seems to be in the works. According to a May 20, 2024 story on the Pharmacy Times website, results of a recently completed Phase 2 trial (NCT04096820) in Canada have not yet been published and a search of ClinicalTrials.gov shows no trials of the vaccine are underway in the United States. According to the Pharmacy Times story, MV140 is available via some special access programs and in 26 countries, including the U.K., Mexico, Spain and Portugal.
Why not a UTI vaccine in the U.S. or Canada?
UTIs are a problem for a significant number of people with MS. About 50% to 80% of MS patients report urinary-related symptoms that are associated with an increased risk of a UTI. In a study of over 15,000 people with MS the risk was two-times higher for the MS patients than for people without MS.
It seems as if lots of people with MS could benefit from a simple, safe UTI vaccine such as MV140. So, why the delay in getting regulatory approval in the U.S. and Canada?
[Have a question about living with MS? I bet an answer is in my book “The Multiple Sclerosis Toolbox“.]
(A version of this post first appeared on the Rare Disease Advisor website.)
(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)
