Acute hemorrhagic obstructive uropathy as a complication of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

During studies related to immunoregulation in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) in rats, acute hemorrhagic obstructive uropathy developed as an unexpected complication. The urinary retention was attributed to mucous plugs tightly impacted into the bladder neck. Although mucous plugs commonly are detected in the bladders of healthy adult rats, they could create a serious complication when impacted into the outflow tract as the result of malfunctioning sphincter actions by EAE-induced spinal cord injury.