Abnormal Resting-State Network Presence in Females with Overactive Bladder

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Urology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Overactive bladder (OAB) significantly impacts patient quality of life and healthcare costs globally.
• The underlying causes of OAB are not fully understood but may involve changes in supraspinal neural networks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate and characterize resting-state functional connectivity in supraspinal networks in patients with overactive bladder (OAB).
• To explore the relationship between supraspinal connectivity alterations and the severity of lower urinary tract symptoms in OAB.

Main Methods:

• Utilized independent component analysis (ICA) and region of interest (ROI) analysis to compare functional brain connectivity.
• Examined resting-state functional connectivity in 12 OAB patients and 12 healthy controls (HC) under 60 years old.
• Analyzed seed-to-voxel connectivity involving the insula and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.

Main Results:

• OAB patients exhibited weaker salience and default mode networks compared to HC (Cohen's d = 0.9 and 1.1, respectively).
• Reduced directed connectivity was observed between the fronto-parietal and salience networks in OAB patients.
• Significant reductions in connectivity were found within frontal and prefrontal cortices, and between specific seed regions and voxels in OAB patients (Cohen's d > 1.6 or < -1.6, and > 1.9).

Conclusions:

• Supraspinal functional connectivity alterations are evident in OAB patients and correlate with symptom severity.
• These findings suggest that supraspinal targets should be considered in future OAB therapeutic strategies.
• Neuroimaging techniques may enhance the phenotyping and understanding of OAB.