No abstract

The TaqI t allele of the VDR gene may be a risk factor for severe stone disease and recurrent stones.

We examined whether the glutamate and glycine levels in the central nervous system (CNS) were related to bladder activity and their serum levels in rats after spinal cord injuly (SCI). Female rats were anesthetized with halothane, and the spinal cord was completely transected at the lower thoracic level. At l day to 8 weeks after SCI, bladder activity and the glutamate and glycine levels in the CNS and serum were measured. Urinary retention was observed in the acute period after SCI. lscvolumetric cystometry showed no bladder contractions at 1 and 3 days after SCI, but contractions were seen after 2 to 8 weeks. The glycine level was increased in the lumbosacral cord at 1 day after SCI, but it was decreased at 2 to 8 weeks. The serun1 glycine level was also increased at 1 week after SCI, and it was decreased gradually over 4 to 8 weeks. The glutamate level in each CNS region and serum of SCI rats did not differ from those of control rats and sham-operated rats at l day to 8 weeks after surgery. Therefore, the change of the glycine level in the lumbosacral cord may influence bladder contractions and its serum level after SCI.Micturition is mediated by the spinobulbospinal reflex pathway, which consist of an afferent limb from the lumbosacral cord to the integration center in the rostral brainstem known as the pontine miclurition center (PMC), and an efferent limb from the PMC back to the parasympathetic nucleus in the lumbosacral cord that controls detrusor muscle contractions [2, 15, 22). The efferent limb simultaneously inhibits the sympathetic and pudenda] nuclei that modulate internal and external uretlnal sphincter contractions (30). After the spinal cord is injured, flaccidily and urinary retention with disappearance of bladder contractions occur during the acute period. However, a potential spinal micturition pathCorrespondence to:

This electrophysiological study demonstrated that the subcoeruleus nucleus and nucleus raphe magnus are involved in both urine storage and penile erection, and that their physiological functions are reciprocally controlled; so that erection leads to inhibition of micturition.

Pelvic venous congestion (PC) is thought to be related to several diseases of the lower urinary tract (LUT). We examined the characteristics of the LUT in rats with PC. To create PC, female rats were anesthetized with isoflurane, and the bilateral common iliac veins and bilateral uterine veins were ligated. At 1-8 weeks after either ligation or sham surgery, we performed cystometry with or without administration of carbazochrome sodium sulfonate hydrate or propiverine hydrochloride, histologic examination of the bladder, blood flow imaging, assessment of locomotor activity, measurement of urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and nitric oxide metabolites (NOx), and the Evans blue dye extravasation test. PC elevated frequency of urination after 2-6 weeks, and caused a decrease of spontaneous locomotor activity. In addition, there was a decrease of bladder blood flow, an increase of bladder vascular permeability, an increase of urinary 8-OHdG, a decrease of urinary NOx, and mild inflammatory changes of the bladder. In rats with PC, frequency of urination was normalized by administration of propiverine or carbazochrome. Rats with PC may be used as a model of PC associated with high frequency of urination, and this model may be useful when developing treatment for LUT symptoms associated with PC.