New Therapies Are In Use And In The Works.(treatment of overactive bladder)

2001 JUN 21 - (NewsRx Network) -- The future appears promising for treatment of overactive bladder, with diverse approaches ranging from gene therapy to ... red hot chili peppers!?

"Overactive bladder is a major health problem that affects not only urologists, but all doctors," stated Michael B. Chancellor, MD, in a keynote address to the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA), held June 2-7, 2001, in Anaheim, California.

OAB is a widespread problem that causes severe distress for sufferers, most of whom are women 60+ years of age. It is also an expensive problem, but one that is often ignored.

There are a couple of anticholinergic drugs that have been in use for OAB for almost 30 years. The drugs are effective, yet most patients discontinue their use because the side effects are more intolerable than dealing with the reason for taking them. New and improved anticholinergic drugs have been developed (sustained release) that reduce the incidence of side effects to a more tolerable level. Still, these are drugs that work to treat the problem after it occurs.

"Anticholinergic drugs are reaching the end of the dinosaur age; they are nearly as good as they can be. There has not been much progress with this line of drugs in the last few years," stated Chancellor. "I believe there will be a paradigm shift. The shift will be to a type of drug that can block the bladder sensory nerve, the nerve that starts off the feeling of urgency. A drug like this will be the Holy Grail, it will help many more patients then the types of drugs we have currently and have fewer side effects."

Tachykinin-receptor antagonists are one of the new drugs being explored, he said. These antagonists block the afferent nerves that control the bladder instead of the efferent nerves that anticholinergic drugs target. The drugs can be administered orally and do not increase the risk of urinary retention that often occurs with anticholinergics, Chancellor explained.

Another exciting possible therapy for patients with urinary retention due to tight bladder sphincter is the local administration of botulism toxin (botox).