More Precise Treatment

The LOOP Zurich research center combines expertise from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the four university hospitals in Zurich with the aim of developing more personalized therapies. Two new projects supported by The LOOP Zurich target urinary tract infections and obesity respectively. 150 million people worldwide are affected by urinary tract infections every year, often recurrent. The standard treatment is antibiotics, but these do not always help and can lead to resistance. Antibiotics also damage the 'good' bacteria that are part of the microbiome in the urinary and intestinal tract. 'We now want to harness this microbiome in the treatment of urinary tract infections,' says Professor Thomas Kessler, senior physician in neuro-urology at Balgrist University Hospital. The new treatment will be developed under the auspices of the mTORUS project (microbiome-based Therapeutic Options for Recurrent Urinary Symptoms) funded over the next five years by The LOOP Zurich.