Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Bladder Smooth Muscle Strip Contractility as a Method to Evaluate Lower Urinary Tract Pharmacology
Published on: August 18, 2014
Adrenomedullin and nitric oxide in children with detrusor instability
Ayşe Balat1, Kemal Sarica, Mustafa Cekmen
1Department of Pediatric Nephrology, Medical Faculty, Gaziantep University, Turkey. balat@gantep.edu.tr
Abstract:
Detrusor instability (DI) and detrusor-external sphincter dyssynergia lead to poor bladder emptying and high bladder pressure. Recent results indicate that nitric oxide (NO) is an important transmitter or messenger molecule in autonomic neurotransmission. Adrenomedullin (AM) is a potent vasodilator and natriuretic peptide, originally purified from human pheochromocytoma. Since NO and AM have vasodilatory effects on smooth muscles, we considered them to be of interest in children with DI. We determined the tissue levels of NO and AM in 14 children with DI, and compared these with 6 children with normal bladder activity. Bladder biopsy total nitrite levels (nmol/g tissue) were decreased in children with DI (10.69+/-0.91 vs. 12.83+/-0.98, P<0.01). However, AM levels (pmol/g tissue) were increased in the same patients (48.84+/-3.52 vs. 28.79+/-1.53, P<0.001). According to our results, decreased NO production probably has a role in the pathophysiology of DI, although increased AM appears to be compensatory. NO may provide a therapeutic target in clinical situations related to DI. However, the functional significance of AM and NO in bladder smooth muscle remains to be determined by further detailed studies.
Related Concept Videos
Nitric Oxide Signaling Pathway
Adrenergic Agonists: Therapeutic Classification
Vasopressor or pressor agents: They increase blood pressure and function as cardiac stimulants. Examples include endogenous catecholamines (norepinephrine and dopamine) and synthetic agents (phenylephrine).
Bronchodilators: β2-agonists can relax bronchial muscles and widen airways. They are commonly used for treating obstructive pulmonary...
Adrenergic Agonists: Therapeutic Uses
Emergency and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) applications: Pressor agents increase blood pressure, heart rate, and contractility in shock and organ failure situations. Dopamine can induce vasodilation and stimulate adrenoceptors. Endogenous catecholamines are effective in treating cardiogenic shock. α2-agonists like clonidine can reverse anesthesia-induced hypertension.
Allergies and anaphylaxis:...
Antihypertensive Drugs: Vasodilators
The Micturition Reflex
The process begins with bladder filling, where the bladder wall stretches as urine accumulates. This stretching activates the urine storage reflex, mediated by the sacral spinal segments and the pontine storage center. Efferent sympathetic impulses stimulate the detrusor muscle to relax and the internal urethral sphincter to contract, facilitating urine...
Anatomy of the Genitourinary System II: Bladder and Urethra

