The established treatment of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction (NLUTD) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) or meningomyelocele (MMC) is mainly conservative and is aimed at the lower urinary tract.
For example, oral antimuscarinic medication is the standard treatment of neurogenic detrusor overactivity. Recently, however, treatment aiming directly or indirectly at the innervation of the urinary tract has gained increasing attention. Current evidence does not justify the use of nerve rerouting but the existing preliminary data are more promising for MMC patients than for those with SCI. Sacral neuromodulation is already a therapeutic option for incomplete SCI patients. Initial data from a pilot study indicate that in patients with complete SCI implementation in the spinal shock phase may prevent the development of NLUTD. Licensing of onabotulinum toxin A (Botox®) facilitated its clinical use for treating NLUTD but it is limited to the indication of neurogenic detrusor overactivity incontinence with a dosage of 200 IU. The mentioned unconventional treatments, although discussed controversially, are promising future treatment options for NLUTD.
Written by:
Sievert KD, Kessler TM, Amend B, Kiss G, Pannek J. Are you the author?
Klinik für Urologie, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Straße 3, 72076, Tübingen, Deutschland.
Reference: Urologe A. 2012 Nov 17. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1007/s00120-012-3052-x
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23160608
Article in German.
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