[Effect of apomorphine on the bladder of parkinsonian patients]

Neurogenic bladder frequently occurs in Parkinson's disease. Detrusor hyperreflexia is a consequence of nigrostriatal dopamine depletion whereas mechanism of hyporeflexia remains unclear. We compared the results of cystometry and urethral profilometry with and without apomorphine (and L dopa) in 12 idiopathic parkinsonians with urinary disorders off dopaminergic treatment. Hyperreflexic patients improved with apomorphine and to a lesser extent with L dopa, whereas these drugs had no effect on hyperreflexic patients. These results confirm the role of dopaminergic lesions in the occurrence of bladder hyperreflexia and the possible action of non dopaminergic lesions in the occurrence of hyporeflexia.