Protecting kidney health in babies with spina bifida through early bladder care
Official title: Urologic Management to Preserve Initial Renal Function Protocol for Young Children with Spina Bifida (UMPIRE) at Texas Children's Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine
Funded at Baylor College of Medicine · NIH-11422035 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows infants and young children with spina bifida to find out whether regular bladder monitoring and treatments like catheterization and medication help protect kidney function and reduce bladder and bowel problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Baylor College of Medicine NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2019 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2023 |
| Award (this year) | $24,999 |
| NIH project number | 6U01DD001263-05M002 |
| Project ID | NIH-11422035 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Newborns and young children diagnosed with spina bifida who are followed at pediatric urology centers would be ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Adults, people without spina bifida, or children whose renal damage is already advanced would be unlikely to benefit directly from participation.
What this research studies
This program follows newborns and young children with spina bifida over time with regular bladder imaging, urine testing, and urodynamic studies. Doctors will record when treatments such as clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) and anticholinergic medicines are started and how children respond. The team will track kidney function, urinary tract changes, and quality-of-life measures like urinary and fecal continence. Families will be asked to attend scheduled visits and share medical information so researchers can build long-term data about early management choices.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help doctors prevent kidney damage and improve bladder and bowel control for children with spina bifida.
How similar studies have gone: While bladder monitoring and treatments like catheterization are commonly used, there are few prospective, long-term studies documenting their effects on kidney outcomes, so this work addresses an important evidence gap.
Where this research is happening
-
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Jarosz, Susan — Baylor College of Medicine
- Study coordinator: Jarosz, Susan
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Improving care and outcomes for people living with spina bifida in Wisconsin
A patient-friendly project aims to improve everyday care and health outcomes for people with spina bifida in Wisconsin.
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The National Spina Bifida Patient Registry at University of Pittsburgh
A national registry project at the University of Pittsburgh aims to collect and organize information about people with spina bifida to improve care.
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Improving Care and Outcomes for People Living with Spina Bifida
A patient-friendly project aims to improve how people with spina bifida are cared for and how well they do over time.
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Scoliosis and neurosurgical factors in myelomeningocele: a clinic registry study
This project uses registry data from Penn State’s Spina Bifida Clinic to understand how brain and spine-related issues influence when and why scoliosis surgery is needed in people with myelomeningocele.
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UMPIRE: Better Urologic Care for Babies with Spina Bifida
This grant tests how to best protect kidney function in newborns with spina bifida by comparing and refining urologic care practices across multiple hospitals.
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Spina Bifida Collaborative Care Network to Improve Outcomes
A national program is expanding coordinated care networks and a patient registry to help people with Spina Bifida get better, more consistent care.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.