News & Blog

Janicki JJ, Chancellor MB, Kaufman J, Gruber MA, Chancellor DD. Potential Effect of Liposomes and Liposome-Encapsulated Botulinum Toxin and Tacrolimus in the Treatment of Bladder Dysfunction. Toxins (Basel). 2016 Mar 18;8(3). pii: E81. doi: 10.3390/toxins8030081.

Delivering a drug directly to the bladder via a catheter, called an instillation, is frequently used as a treatment for recurrent bladder cancer. More recently, this technique has been used to deliver liposomal botulinum toxin with encouraging safety and efficacy results for the treatment of both overactive bladder and interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). In this educational article, the authors describe the latest applications of liposome encapsulated drug instillation to treat bladder problems. In general, encapsulating drugs such as botulinum toxin and tacrolimus in liposomes optimizes delivery of those drugs into the bladder and protects them from breaking down in the urine. While a lack of very strong data to prove the effects of this approach has been a challenge, there is now a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of liposome encapsulated botulinum toxin that is underway and results are eagerly awaited. The bottom line is that, even without those results, Intravesical liposome therapy is considered to be safe and promising as a new form of treatment for problems in the lower urinary tract.