Intravesical electrostimulation versus sacral neuromodulation for incomplete spinal cord patients suffering from neurogenic non-obstructive urinary retention.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the efficacy of intravesical electrostimulation (IVES) versus sacral neuromodulation (SNM) in patients with incomplete spinal cord lesions (SCL) and neurogenic non-obstructive urinary retention (N-NOR). METHODS: In this retrospective study, 77 N-NOR patients underwent IVES (minimum 28 sessions), then after returning to voiding baseline symptoms, percutaneous first stage of SNM (lasting for minimum 4 weeks). After the two neuromodulation treatments, responders were categorized as patients experiencing both a 50% reduction of volume per catheterization per ml and a 50% reduction in number of catheterizations per day when comparing the 7-day voiding diaries at the end of both procedures to baselines. New urodynamics were performed subsequently. Responders to first stage of SNM underwent permanent SNM. RESULTS: Forty-eight patients responded to neither of the treatments, whereas 29 responded to both IVES and first-stage SNM. No significant statistical differences (P>0.05) were detected in the voiding diaries. Following the two procedures, the first sensation of bladder filling was either maintained or recovered by all responders, whereas the same 11 patients reached a bladder contractility index of >100. The 29 IVES responders lost their clinical benefits in a mean follow-up of 9.6 months. Only 10 out of the 29 patients became nonresponsive to permanent SNM, in a mean follow-up of 54 months. CONCLUSION: A strict correlation in terms of clinical and urodynamic patterns was demonstrated in patients with incomplete SCL and N-NOR, following IVES and first stage of SNM. However, voiding improvement through IVES was short-term when compared with the effects of permanent SNM.

A case of potential treatment of remote pain after sacral nerve stimulation for chronic urinary retention.

OBJECTIVE: A case is presented in which a 58-year-old man developed a potential unintended and durable treatment of pain at remote sites (cervical region and low back) after sacral nerve stimulation for chronic urinary retention. METHODS: Proper placement of the electrodes in the S3 foramen was confirmed by physiological response and fluoroscopy. RESULTS: Potential causality was shown by recurrent pain with the stimulators turned off and abatement of pain with the stimulators turned on. DISCUSSION: The current case presents a potential example of neurological crosstalk and highlights the inherent complexity in human neural physiology. Further research may reveal novel treatment strategies for patients with voiding dysfunction and chronic pain syndromes.

Effects of neuromodulation with sacral magnetic stimulation for intractable bowel or bladder dysfunction in postoperative patients with anorectal malformation: a preliminary report.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The effects of neuromodulation with sacral magnetic stimulation (SMS) were examined in postoperative patients with bowel or bladder dysfunction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: SMS was performed at the S3 level using a MagPro® instrument (Medtronic Inc., USA) while the patients were under light sedation. One treatment course consisted of stimulation delivered at 15 Hz for 5 s, 10 times over an interval of 1 min. Three patients with bladder or bowel dysfunction refractory to conservative treatment were examined. RESULTS: Case 1 is a 7-year-old male with a rectourethral fistula. This patient developed a hyperdynamic bladder after a laparoscopic pull-through operation at the age of 7 months. The administration of an anticholinergic agent slightly improved the condition. SMS was started at the age of 4 years with one trial each year. A marked expansion of bladder volume from 20 ml before trial to 120 ml after the third trial was obtained. Case 2 (a 4-year old female with a recto-vaginal fistula) and Case 3 (a 8-year-old female with an ano-vestibular fistula) showed severe constipation after radical surgery during infancy. Case 2 needed appendicostomy. After SMS, bowel movements could become controllable with enemas. No adverse effects were observed for any of the three cases. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that SMS might be a useful modality to improve postoperative bowel or bladder dysfunction.

Selective co-stimulation of pudendal afferents enhances reflex bladder activation.

The loss of normal bladder function is common in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and negatively impacts their quality of life. Electrical stimulation of pudendal nerve afferents is a promising approach to restore control of bladder function. Pudendal afferent stimulation can generate reflex contraction of the bladder, but the resulting bladder voiding efficiency remains low. The objective of this work was t o evaluate selective co-stimulation of two branches of the pudendal nerve--the cranial urethral sensory nerve (CSN) and the dorsal nerve of the penis (DNP)--as a means to enhance reflex bladder activation and bladder voiding efficiency. In preclinical studies in anesthetized adult cats, co-stimulation of CSN and DNP evoked larger bladder contractions than individual stimulation of either CSN or DNP. In a parallel clinical experiment involving a participant with chronic SCI, co-stimulation of the proximal and distal urethra also produced synergistic augmentation of reflex bladder activity, and thus improved voiding efficiency when compared to reflex distension-evoked voiding. Selective co-stimulation of pudendal afferents is efficacious and should be considered in the development of neural prosthetics for restoration of bladder function in persons with SCI.

Intraspinal stimulation for bladder voiding in cats before and after chronic spinal cord injury.

The long-term objective of this study is to develop neural prostheses for people with spinal cord injuries who are unable to voluntarily control their bladder. This feasibility study was performed in 22 adult cats. We implanted an array of microelectrodes into locations in the sacral spinal cord that are involved in the control of micturition reflexes. The effect of microelectrode stimulation was studied under light Propofol anesthesia at monthly intervals for up to 14 months. We found that electrical stimulation in the sacral parasympathetic nucleus at S(2) level or in adjacent ventrolateral white matter produced bladder contractions insufficient for inducing voiding, while stimulation at or immediately dorsal to the dorsal gray commissure at S(1) level produced strong (at least 20 mmHg) bladder contractions as well as strong (at least 40 mm Hg) external urethral sphincter relaxation, resulting in bladder voiding in 14 animals. In a subset of three animals, spinal cord transection was performed. For several months after the transection, intraspinal stimulation continued to be similarly or even more effective in inducing the bladder voiding as before the transection. We speculate that in the absence of the supraspinal connections, the plasticity in the local spinal circuitry played a role in the improved responsiveness to intraspinal stimulation.

[The value of intravesical electrostimulation in the treatment of acute prolonged bladder overdistension]. / Der Stellenwert der intravesikalen Elektrostimulation in der Therapie der akuten prolongierten Blasenüberdehnung.

BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of intravesical electrostimulation (IVES) in the treatment of acute prolonged bladder overdistension (PBO) was investigated. METHODS: Sixteen patients (female 11, male 5, ø 54 years) after PBO (bladder filling volume: 1317+/-320 ml) were evaluated: 11 after surgery and 5 after polytrauma, psychosomatic disorder or LV4 fracture. After exclusion of a neurogenic aetiology and a urodynamic examination, IVES was performed besides IC or suprapubic catheter. RESULTS: Group 1: six patients with a weak detrusor (p(detr. max.)<30 cmH(2)O); group 2: ten patients had detrusor acontractility. After 25 IVES sessions, group 1 showed a significant increase of p(detr. max.) (p=0.01) as well as a decrease in PVR (31% to 3% of bladder capacity, p=0.02). Group 2 had no significant increase of p(detr. max). CONCLUSIONS: Two-thirds of patients with a weak detrusor after PBO will regain balanced voiding after IVES due to detrusor reinforcement. With an acontractile detrusor only bladder sensation improves.

Urinary retention after hysterectomy for benign disease: extended diagnostic evaluation and treatment with sacral nerve stimulation.

OBJECTIVE: To detect prospectively neurogenic damage in patients with urinary retention responding to sacral nerve stimulation (SNS) after hysterectomy for benign disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From August 1995 to February 2002, 13 of 15 patients (mean age 43 years, sd 7) with urine retention for a mean (sd, range) of 25 (22, 6-240) months after hysterectomy for benign disease, were prospectively evaluated and treated with SNS. They were assessed using urodynamics at baseline and during the test stimulation. Sensory evoked potentials (SEPs), electrical sensory threshold (EST) measurements of the pudendal nerve, bladder neck and the bladder (2 Hz, 0-300 V), and needle electromyography of the external urethral sphincter (EUS) were undertaken in all patients. RESULTS: De-afferentiation (EST >/= 200 V) was limited to the bladder in four of the 13 patients and extended to the bladder neck in one other, and was matched by no response at the SEP. Relative ESTs of the bladder neck correlated inversely with residual urine (r = - 0.76, P = 0.01, x = 546, fx = 1.22) and bladder capacity (r = - 0.77, P = 0.01, x = 611, fx = 1.26) at diagnosis. Complex repetitive discharges and decelerating bursts of the EUS were seen in these five patients. Unilateral SNS was applied in 10 patients (bilateral in three). A revision was needed in six patients. Uroflowmetry at the last follow-up showed a mean (sd) maximum urinary flow rate of 22 (18) mL/s (not significantly different from during trial stimulation) with residual urine of 50-100 mL in two and 200-400 mL in three patients. Intermittent catheterization was needed in four patients. CONCLUSION: Urinary retention after hysterectomy for benign disease is associated with de-afferentiation of the bladder wall in some patients and is correlated inversely with the relative EST of the bladder neck. A Fowler syndrome was detected in five patients. For residual urine, about half the patients have a good and a third a partial long-term effect; we now offer SNS as a further treatment option.

Sacral neuromodulation in functional urinary retention: an effective way to restore voiding.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the long-term efficacy and complications of sacral nerve stimulation as an alternative therapy for functional unobstructive urinary retention, often considered to be psychogenic and effectively treated by clean intermittent catheterization, but for which pelvic floor dysfunction has been recognized as a possible cause. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty patients (17 women and three men, mean age 48 years) with idiopathic, unobstructive functional urinary retention and in whom other forms of therapy had failed, had a pulse generator implanted (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN, USA) and a sacral nerve implant. Their mean duration of symptoms was 68 months; 13 patients had chronic pelvic and perineal pain associated with their obstructive voiding symptoms. All patients were managed with clean intermittent catheterization and pharmacological therapy (alpha-blockers) before the procedure. All patients had a percutaneous nerve evaluation before the permanent implant, which showed> 50% improvement in their symptoms. All patients were evaluated at 1, 6 12, 18 and 24 months, then yearly thereafter. The results were assessed both subjectively by patient's symptoms and objectively by checking the postvoid residual volume (PVR) and voided volume. RESULTS: Eighteen patients were able to void spontaneously with a mean increase in voided volume from 48 to 198 mL, and a significant decrease in PVR from 315 to 60 mL. Eighteen of the patients had a > or = 50% improvement in their symptoms and said they would recommend the therapy to a friend or relative. Complications occurred in six patients. CONCLUSION: Sacral nerve stimulation is an effective and durable new approach to functional urinary retention, with few associated complications. Test stimulation provides a valuable tool for selecting patients.

Pelvic floor rehabilitation is effective in patients with multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of pelvic floor muscle exercises combined with electrical stimulation of pelvic floor on lower urinary tract dysfunction in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients with near normal (< 100 ml) postvoid residual volumes. DESIGN: Open, controlled, randomized study in two parallel groups. SETTING: Rehabilitation centre for MS patients. SUBJECTS: Fifty women and 30 men with definite MS and current symptoms of lower urinary tract dysfunction. OUTCOME: The muscle activity of the pelvic floor muscles was tested using surface EMG. Subjective urinary symptoms were assessed using a questionnaire. INTERVENTIONS: Pelvic floor muscles were stimulated using electrical stimulation at six sessions. During and after the final session the patients were taught to exercise their pelvic floor muscles and advised to continue these exercises regularly for at least six months. The control group was not treated. RESULTS: The maximal contraction power and endurance of the pelvic floor muscles increased after six sessions of electrical stimulation with interferential currents. Symptoms of urinary urgency, frequency and incontinence were significantly less frequent in the treated group than in the untreated subjects. Male patients appeared to respond better to the treatment than female patients. Compliance with the pelvic floor exercises was over 60% at the end of a follow-up for six months. Most drop-outs were due to the disappearance of urinary tract symptoms or to severe relapses in MS. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that pelvic floor muscle exercises combined with electrical stimulation of the pelvic floor constitute an effective treatment for lower urinary tract dysfunction at least in male patients with MS.