This application requests funds for two purposes: ? ? 1) Career Development: The applicant plans to obtain a Master of Science degree in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis from the University of Michigan. The career goals include short and long-term goals. Short-term goals include the obtaining the Master Degree and beginning an innovative well-designed patient-oriented research project under the mentorship of a highly productive clinical researcher. The long-term goals include developing into an independent patient-oriented researcher with expertise in electrodiagnosis and urethral function, enhancing research abilities with a better understanding of methodology and design, designing follow-up studies to prevent and treat neuromuscular injuries to the urethral sphincter, submission of an R01 to fund such studies, and developing research mentoring skills to begin training the next generation of patient-oriented clinical researchers. ? ? 2) Research Project:
The specific aims of the research plan are: 1. To acquire high-quality neuromuscular signals from the urethra using concentric needle electromyography (EMG; with quantitative motor unit analysis) and current perception threshold testing to test the null hypothesis that there are no differences in urethral neuromuscular function in: i) Caucasian and African American women; ii) Continent and stress incontinent women; and iii) Continent nulliparous and parous women. 2. To establish quantitative parameters of urethral sphincter function in women of various races. Normative ranges will be calculated for EMG, current perception thresholds, and urethral pressures for Caucasian and African American women. These data can then be used by other centers as reference data. ? ?

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23)
Project #
5K23HD047325-05
Application #
7488320
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZHD1-DRG-D (ZP))
Program Officer
Parrott, Estella C
Project Start
2004-09-30
Project End
2010-09-29
Budget Start
2008-09-30
Budget End
2010-09-29
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2008
Total Cost
$98,988
Indirect Cost
Name
Loyola University Chicago
Department
Obstetrics & Gynecology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
791277940
City
Maywood
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60153
Spirka, Thomas; Kenton, Kimberly; Brubaker, Linda et al. (2013) Effect of material properties on predicted vesical pressure during a cough in a simplified computational model of the bladder and urethra. Ann Biomed Eng 41:185-94
Ramm, Olga; Mueller, Elizabeth R; Brubaker, Linda et al. (2012) Complex repetitive discharges--a feature of the urethral continence mechanism or a pathological finding? J Urol 187:2140-3
Kenton, Kimberly; Mueller, Elizabeth; Brubaker, Linda (2011) Neuromuscular characterization of the urethra in continent women. Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg 17:226-30
Kenton, Kimberly; Mueller, Elizabeth; Brubaker, Linda (2011) Continent women have better urethral neuromuscular function than those with stress incontinence. Int Urogynecol J 22:1479-84
Lowenstein, Lior; Pham, Thythy; Abbasy, Shameem et al. (2009) Observations relating to urinary sensation during detrusor overactivity. Neurourol Urodyn 28:497-500
Lowenstein, Lior; FitzGerald, Mary P; Kenton, Kimberly et al. (2008) Validation of a real-time urodynamic measure of urinary sensation. Am J Obstet Gynecol 198:661.e1-4;discussion 661.e4-5