Changes of urinary nerve growth factor and prostaglandins in male patients with overactive bladder symptom

Nerve growth factor (NGF) and prostaglandins (PG) in the urinary bladder can be affected by pathology of bladder, and this change can be noted in the urine. This study was performed to investigate the changes in urinary NGF and PG in male patient with overactive bladder (OAB) symptoms.

The study group included 75 male patients with OAB symptoms and 20 males without bladder symptoms as controls. Evaluation included history-taking, urinalysis, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and urodynamic study. The NGF, PGE2, PGF(2alpha) and PGI2 levels in voided urine were analyzed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and these results were compared in control and OAB patients. Also, the urinary levels of NGF and PG were correlated with IPSS score and urodynamic parameters in OAB patients.

The urinary levels of NGF and PGE2 were signi fi cantly increased in patients with OAB compared with control (P < 0.05). The urodynamic study in OAB patients showed that more than half of the patients had detrusor overactivity and bladder outlet obstruction. The incidence of detrusor underactivity was noted in seven patients in the OAB group. The urinary level of PGE2 was decreased in patients with detrusor underactivity compared with patients without detrusor underactivity (P < 0.05), and negatively correlated with maximum bladder capacity in OAB patients (P < 0.05).

NGF and PG may have important role in male patients with OAB, and the urinary level of PGE2 can change according to detrusor function. Therefore, these results may be used as urinary markers to evaluate the OAB symptoms.