Insight into new potential targets for the treatment of overactive bladder and detrusor overactivity

Although overactive bladder (OAB) and detrusor overactivity (DO) are not synonyms, they share therapeutic options and partially underlying physiopathological mechanisms. The aim of this overview is to give insight into new potential targets for the treatment of OAB and DO. A narrative review was done in order to reach this goal. Ageing, pelvic floor disorders, hypersensitivity disorders, morphologic bladder changes, neurological diseases, local inflammations, infections, tumors and bladder outlet obstruction may alter the normal voluntary control of micturition, leading to OAB and DO. The main aim of pharmacotherapy is to restore normal control of micturition, inhibiting the emerging pathological involuntary reflex mechanism. Therapeutic targets can be found at the levels of the urothelium, detrusor muscles, autonomic and afferent pathways, spinal cord and brain. Increased expression and/or sensitivity of urothelial-sensory molecules that lead to afferent sensitization have been documented as a possible pathogenesis of OAB. Targeting afferent pathways and/or bladder smooth muscles by modulating activity of ligand receptors and ion channels could be effective to suppress OAB.