Cystometric Measurements in Rats with an Experimentally Induced Traumatic Brain Injury and Voiding Dysfunction: A Time-Course Study

Abstract

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a serious public health issue worldwide with increased mortality as well as severe disabilities and injuries caused by falls and road accidents. Unfortunately, there is no approved therapy for TBIs, and bladder dysfunction is a striking symptom. Accordingly, we attempted to analyze bladder dysfunction and voiding efficiency in rats with a TBI at different time-course intervals. Time-dependent analyses were scheduled from the next day until four weeks after a TBI. Experimental animals were grouped and analyzed under the above conditions. Cystometric measurements were used for this analysis and were further elaborated as external urethral sphincter electromyographic (EUS-EMG) activity and cystometrogram (CMG) measurements. Moreover, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies were conducted to investigate secondary injury progression in TBI rats, and results were compared to normal control (NC) rats. Results of EUS-EMG revealed that the burst period, active period, and silent period in TBI rats were drastically reduced compared to NC rats, but they increased later and reached a stagnant phase. Likewise, in CMG measurements, bladder function, the voided volume, and voiding efficiency decreased immediately after the TBI, and other parameters like the volume threshold, inter-contraction interval, and residual volume drastically increased. Later, those levels changed, and all observed results were compared to NC rats. MRI results revealed the prevalence of cerebral edema and the progression of secondary injury. All of the above-stated results of the experiments were extensively substantiated. Thus, these innovative findings of our study model will surely pave the way for new therapeutic interventions for TBI treatment and prominently highlight their applications in the field of neuroscience in the future.

Efficacy of Deep Brain Stimulation on the Improvement of the Bladder Functions in Traumatic Brain Injured Rats

“…Cystometric measurements (CMG) were performed the same as in our previous studies [ 1 , 4 , 14 ]. The investigator who assessed the bladder activity was blinded to the status of the rat.…”

“…Bladder activity was observed by CMG readings [ 1 , 4 , 14 ], and several CMG parameters were documented to further investigate the TBI’s effects on voiding activity, such as the voiding threshold (VT) (saline volume which is sufficient to induce bladder contractions); contraction amplitude (CA) (maximal intravesical pressure in the course of voiding); contraction duration (CD) (bladder contraction duration/period at the time of voiding); and intercontraction interval (ICI) (interval between micturition). The residual volume (RV) was measured by emptying the bladder achieved by applying manual pressure to the abdominal wall.…”

“…Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a primary public health concern worldwide. They can be defined as non-degenerative, non-congenitally acquired insults to the brain from an external mechanical force, that most likely alter the normal functions of the brain and lead to transient or irreversible impairment of cognitive, physical, and psychosocial functions, with an additional diminished or altered state of consciousness [ 1 ]. Furthermore, prolonged treatment strategies and economic burdens in terms of health spending and loss of positive outcomes are astounding [ 2 ] Approximately 69 million individuals worldwide are estimated to sustain a TBI each year [ 3 ].…”

“…In our previous study, we successfully established a typical TBI rat model with chronic bladder dysfunction [ 1 ]. Based on our previous results, we further explored the delayed chronology of TBI-induced changes in bladder functions and alleviation of ailments with the aid of the cutting-edge technique of a targeted DBS strategy.…”

Designing and Implementing an Implantable Wireless Micromanometer System for Real-Time Bladder Pressure Monitoring: A Preliminary Study

“…For comparison between our wireless biomicrosystem and a standard clinical diagnostic procedure, we compared the bladder pressures measured by this device and cystometric measurements with a commercial biological signal acquisition system (Biopac MP 36, BIOPAC Systems, Santa Barbara, CA, USA). Cystometry was performed the same way as in our previous studies [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. The rabbit was anesthetized with isoflurane (3~5%) through a facemask.…”