Future trends in the treatment of urinary incontinence

Anticholinergic drugs act on efferent nerves to counteract overactive bladder (OAB) after it occurs. To prevent the occurrence of OAB, therapies should be directed at blocking the afferent nerves that control the bladder. Tachykinin-receptor antagonists hold great promise in this regard, since they can be administered orally and do not increase the risk of urinary retention that occurs with anticholinergics. Advanced drug delivery systems, such as controlled-release oral oxybutynin (oxybutynin-XL) can reduce the incidence of anticholinergic side effects. In a similar manner intravesical therapy for OAB is site specific, and thus also reduces the occurrence of adverse events. Moreover, the difficulties of intravesical therapy may now be overcome with advanced delivery techniques such as an implantable, long-acting drug-delivery pump. Another intravesical therapy that has met with great acceptance and success is the administration of chili pepper extracts, especially resiniferitoxin, which may be effective for up to 3 months with one application. Finally, gene therapy holds great promise for OAB, because it is possible to access all of the genitourinary organs via endoscopy and other minimally invasive techniques that are ideally suited for gene therapy.     

Early molecular-level changes in rat bladder wall tissue following spinal cord injury

Previously, we demonstrated using a rat model of spinal cord injury (SCI) that bladder wall tissue compliance significantly increased within the first 2 weeks following injury. In order to explore the potential molecular-level mechanisms of this event, the present study quantified molecules pertinent to bladder tissue remodeling and changes in mechanical properties. An initial gene array analysis followed by real-time qPCR revealed that the message levels for tropoelastin and lysyl oxidase were as high as 8-fold in SCI rats compared to normal. Furthermore, both the message and protein levels of TGF-beta1 and IGF-1, known stimulators of elastin synthesis, in SCI rat bladders were significantly higher compared to those of normal rats. Taken together, it can be speculated that functional changes of the bladder associated with SCI induce release of select growth factors, which, in turn, stimulate elastogenesis that lead to alteration of biomechanical properties of the wall tissue.     

Parental factors in dominance of lateral buds on rhizomes of Agropyron repens (L.) beauv.

Summary A mixture of 1-naphthylacetic acid and 6-benzylaminopurine was found to be an effective substitute for the rhizome apex of attached rhizomes, when the plants were not at anthesis. The same mixture was not effective, however, when the plants were at anthesis. The same growth-regulators applied to the apical end of detached multi-node rhizome fragments did not maintain correlative inhibition unless growth-regulators were simultaneously applied to the basal end. Various interactions between apical and basal applications are discussed with regard to their role as a parental factor in apical dominance.Abbreviations NAA 1-naphthyl acetic acid - BAP 6-benzylaminopurine - ABA abcisic acid - IAA indole-3-acetic acid