Sensory mechanisms in normal bladder and in cystitis

Funded Activity Summary

The function of the lower urinary tract is to store urine and release it at appropriate times. This requires neural circuits in the brain, spinal cord and peripheral ganglia. When the bladder fills, sensory neurones fire and activate these neural circuits to store urine or to empty the bladder. If sensory neurones are too easily excited (a process called sensitisation ) this will lead to clinical disorders, including the common painful bladder syndromes, whose cause is not known (interstitial cystitis, sensory urgency etc). These are characterised by pelvic pain, urinary urgency, frequency and, in some cases, urge incontinence (loss of urine for no apparent reason) which results from unstable or overactive bladder. Despite a large database of knowledge about the sensory innervation of the bladder, many important gaps still exist. These gaps have restricted the development of new therapies. For example, we have little idea about exactly which functional classes of sensory neurones signal filling of the normal bladder or what different types of information they carry. This is vital information for understanding which neurones are affected in disease states and whether they are all affected in the same way. We have developed new methods that will allow us to identify the major classes of sensory neurones that innervate the bladder, what they respond to and how they are activated. We will also determine whether some classes are preferentially sensitised by inflammation and the most important mechanisms that are likely to underlie this. The significance of this project is that it provides the basic scientific understanding of sensory innervation of the bladder and will identify potential targets for selective pharmacological intervention in common bladder disorders.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2006

End Date: 01-01-2008

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $408,861.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Nephrology and Urology

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

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Other Keywords

bladder sensory nerves | detrusor hyperreflexia after spinal cord injury | inflammation | interstitial cystitis | micturition | sensory urgency | urinary bladder | urinary incontinence

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