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Lookup NU author(s): Magdalini Lagou, Professor James Gillespie, Emeritus Professor Thomas Kirkwood, Ian Harvey, Marcus Drake
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1 Peripheral autonomous bladder activity is an incompletely understood property that may be important both in normal bladder function and in functional problems of the lower urinary tract. We describe how a muscarinic agonist, arecaidine, influences intravesical pressure and intramural bladder contractions in the isolated mouse and how response varies in ageing mice. 2 A group of 12 mice aged 3-4 months was compared with an 'ageing' group of 12 mice age 28-34 months. Bladders were microsurgically removed and mounted in whole organ tissue baths. The effects of the muscarinic agonist arecaidine on intravesical pressure and intramural contractions were performed at different bladder volumes. 3 In normal mice, arecaidine elicited tonic and phasic contractions, the latter showing a more substantial increase in amplitude with bladder distension. Localized 'micromotion' contractions were seen in the bladder wall, with regional differences arising after exposure to arecaidine. A background release of acetylcholine was inferred from the pressure increase induced by the cholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine. 4 Both micromotion activity and the phasic component of the arecaidine response were substantially reduced in ageing mice; the tonic component was preserved in the same specimens. 5 We conclude that the enhanced pressure fluctuations seen at high bladder volumes may act as a peripheral determinant of bladder capacity, and that changes in such activity may contribute to altered functional capacity and lower urinary tract symptoms in ageing individuals. © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Author(s): Lagou M, Gillespie J, Kirkwood T, Harvey I, Drake MJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Autonomic and Autacoid Pharmacology
Year: 2006
Volume: 26
Issue: 3
Pages: 253-260
ISSN (print): 1474-8665
ISSN (electronic): 1474-8673
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-8673.2006.00364.x
DOI: 10.1111/j.1474-8673.2006.00364.x
PubMed id: 16879490
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