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Lower Urinary Tract Function in Spinocerebellar Ataxia 6
Fuyuki Tateno1, Ryuji Sakakibara1, Megumi Sugiyama1
1Department of Internal Medicine, Toho University, Sakura, JapanClinical Physiology Unit, Sakura Medical Center, Toho University, Sakura, JapanDepartment of Urology, Toho University, Sakura, JapanDepartment of Neurology, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
Objective:
To investigate lower urinary tract function in spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6).
Methods:
We recruited, without bias, nine SCA6 patients with a mean cytosine-adenine-guanine repeat length of 24.3 (21-26, normal <18). They were four men, five women; mean age 58.6 years; mean disease duration 8.2 years. We performed a urinary symptom questionnaire and a urodynamics.
Results:
Urinary symptoms were observed in five of nine patients (56%) and urinary frequency in three of nine patients (33%), and none had urinary retention. Urodynamic abnormalities included detrusor overactivity in one (11%) and weak detrusor on voiding in two, but none had postvoid residual urine. Sphincter electromyography revealed, while mild in degree, neurogenic change in five of the eight patients (63%) on whom the test was performed.
Conclusion:
We observed urinary frequency in 33%; detrusor overactivity in only 11%; and neurogenic change in the sphincter electromyography in 63% of our nine SCA6 patients. These findings might be relevant to the cerebellar and spinal cord pathologies of this disease.
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