An Examination of the Relationship between Urinary Neurotrophin Concentrations and Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) Used in Pediatric Overactive Bladder Therapy

Abstract

This article aims to explore changes in urinary concentrations of selected neurotrophins in the course of TENS therapy in children with overactive bladder (OAB). A two-group open-label prospective study was conducted. The intervention group comprised 30 children aged between 5 and 12 years old with OAB refractory to conservative therapy. They received 12 weeks of TENS therapy in a home setting. The urinary neurotrophins, NGF, BDNF, NT3, NT4, were measured by ELISA at baseline and at the end of the TENS therapy. Total urinary neurotrophins levels were standardized to mg of creatinine (Cr). We compared the results with the reference group of 30 participants with no symptoms of bladder overactivity. The results revealed that children with OAB both before and after TENS therapy had higher NGF, BDNF, and NT4 concentrations in total and after normalization to Cr than the reference group in contrast to NT3. The response to the therapy expressed as a decrease of urinary neurotrophins after TENS depended on the age and the presenting symptoms. In conclusion, children older than 8 years of age with complaints of daytime incontinence responded better to TENS.

Progress in Functional Urology Reflected in Recent Papers in the Journal of Clinical Medicine

“…However, while of pathophysiological interest, proposals that urinary neurotrophin concentrations may be biomarkers of OAB have been met with skepticism [ 10 ]. Some investigators from Poland have now investigated the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in 30 children aged 5–12 years with OAB in comparison with 30 children without OAB [ 11 ]. While treatment was associated with a decrease in urinary neurotrophins, which depended on age and presenting symptoms, the levels before and after treatment were considerably higher than those in the controls without OAB.…”

Bibliometric and visual analysis of nocturnal enuresis from 1982 to 2022

“…NE is a complicated disease with multiple pathogenetic factors that have been extensively studied in recent decades. The common symptoms are excessive nocturnal urine production and bladder dysfunction (9,10). There are other causes, such as sleep-wake disorder, genetic inheritance (11,12), hormonal dysregulation (13,14), neurological abnormalities (15), upper airway obstruction, the circadian rhythm of glomerular filtration rate disorder (16), sleep-disordered breathing (17) and so on.…”