[Age-related aspects in neurourology]

This review highlights age-related aspects of neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction. The changing needs and requirements of elderly long-term paraplegics and of elderly people affected from acute spinal cord injury or neurological diseases are discussed. Complications and delayed damage in the urinary tract must be recognized in time to be treated successfully. For uro-oncological early recognition examinations and the assessment of screening parameters, disease and paralysis-associated aspects as well as the individual social situation must be considered. Urologists involved in the long-term treatment of elderly paraplegic patients should take the increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality into consideration. If paraplegia or a neurodegenerative disease occurs in elderly persons, constellations are often present which stretch the established neurourological concepts of diagnostics, therapy and long-term care to their limits. Knowledge compiled over decades of neurourological care of younger paraplegic patients can be adapted to the needs of elderly patients and new approaches can sometimes be tried.