TUESDAY, March 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Vaginal Erbium YAG laser is beneficial for postmenopausal women with overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) and vaginal atrophy, according to a study published online Feb. 28 in Menopause.

Keerati Chiengthong, M.D., and Suvit Bunyavejchevin, M.D., from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, conducted a single-center, randomized sham-controlled study involving postmenopausal women diagnosed with OAB who complained of one or more vaginal atrophy symptoms (VAS). Participants received one session of Erbium YAG laser or a sham procedure (25 in each group).

The researchers found that the vaginal Erbium YAG laser group demonstrated significant improvement in total Overactive Bladder Symptom Score, nocturia, and urgency compared with the sham group at the 12-week follow-up. Significant improvements were also seen in the coping and social subscale of the OAB questionnaire, daytime micturition frequency, urgency and maximum urine volume, and the VAS and Vaginal Health Index scores for the vaginal Erbium YAG laser group.

“The results of this small study showed some benefit of Erbium YAG laser for the treatment of overactive bladder symptoms, with minimal adverse events at 12 weeks,” Stephanie Faubion, M.D., medical director of the North American Menopause Society, said in a statement. “Larger studies with longer-term follow-up, as well as a cost-effectiveness analysis, are needed before this treatment can be recommended as a therapy for overactive bladder syndrome.”

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