title: The probiotic approach: an alternative treatment option in urology.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The prophylactic and therapeutic use of probiotic microorganisms is a wide and still controversial field. The review paper is aimed to summarize recent findings on the health-benefiting effects of probiotics in urological diseases. The use of certain beneficial strains against urogenital infections, bladder cancer recurrence and renal stone formation is discussed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Literature search of PubMed documented publications and abstracts from meetings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Various clinical trials have now been performed which substantiate the beneficial effects of the probiotic strains L. rhamnosus GR-1, L. fermentum RC-14 and L. crispatus CTV-05 against urogenital infections, such as urinary tract infections and bacterial vaginosis. The potential of L. casei Shirota to reduce the recurrence rate of bladder cancer is one of the most intriguing examples for the use of probiotics in medical practice. The use of O. formigenes in the prevention of calcium oxalate stone disease was only recently suggested and needs to be further investigated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Clinical trials increasingly provide a profound scientific basis for the use of probiotics in medicinal practice including urology. Efforts to make probiotic products available which are validated according to the guidelines recommended by the WHO and FAO and produced according to Good Manufacturing Practice will contribute to the acceptance of probiotic therapy by both the physicians and the patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hospital Barmherzige Brüder, Technical University Munich, Krankenhaus Barmherzige Brüder, Romanstr. 93, 80639 München, Germany. choesl2004@yahoo.com
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Hoesl
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Altwein
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002129:Calcium Oxalate / Q000737:chemistry; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007669:Kidney Calculi / Q000178:diet therapy; D019936:Probiotics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014570:Urologic Diseases / Q000178:diet therapy*; D014572:Urology / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D002129:Calcium Oxalate