Bladder Capacity in Women With Overactive Bladder Syndrome: A Cross-sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate bladder capacity in women with idiopathic overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) through bladder diary, cystomanometry, and uroflowmetry and assess the concordance of the different measures of bladder capacity. A secondary objective is to describe the relationship between bladder capacity and urinary frequency in OAB patients. METHODS: An observational cross-sectional multicentric study was conducted, including female patients diagnosed with idiopathic OAB. All participants underwent a urodynamic study and completed a 3-day bladder diary (3dBD). Different parameters were used to calculate bladder capacity: maximum cystometric capacity (MCC) assessed at the end of filling cystometry, voided volume (VV) during the uroflowmetry, maximum voided volume (VVmax), and average voided volume (VVmed), both assessed through the 3dBD. Reproducibility analysis was performed to assess the agreement among the different bladder capacity measures. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and weighted Kappa index were used. Bladder capacity parameters were also assessed in relation to urinary frequency. RESULTS: Bladder capacity measures were diminished in this population, except for VVmax. Poor correlation was found between the different bladder capacity variables (ICC and weighted Kappa index <0.4). Twenty-four-hour frequency and average VV present a weak negative linear relationship (Pearson coefficient -0.344). CONCLUSION: MCC and average VV are reduced in OAB patients. MCC does not correlate well with functional bladder volumes determined by voiding diary in the OAB population.

A Comprehensive Analysis of Immune Response in Patients with Non-Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

BACKGROUND: Bladder carcinoma has elevated morbimortality due to its high recurrence and progression in localized disease. A better understanding of the role of the tumor microenvironment in carcinogenesis and response to treatment is needed. METHODS: Peripheral blood and samples of urothelial bladder cancer and adjacent healthy urothelial tissue were collected from 41 patients and stratified in low- and high-grade urothelial bladder cancer, excluding muscular infiltration or carcinoma in situ. Mononuclear cells were isolated and labeled for flow cytometry analysis with antibodies aimed at identifying specific subpopulations within T lymphocytes, myeloid cells and NK cells. RESULTS: In peripheral blood and tumor samples, we detected different percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes, monocyte and myeloid-derived suppressor cells, as well as differential expression of activation- and exhaustion-related markers. Conversely, only a significant increase in bladder total monocytes was found when comparing bladder and tumor samples. Interestingly, we identified specific markers differentially expressed in the peripheral blood of patients with different outcomes. CONCLUSION: The analysis of host immune response in patients with NMIBC may help to identify specific markers that allow optimizing therapy and patient follow-up. Further investigation is needed to establish a strong predictive model.