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DMSO: effect on bladder afferent neurons and nitric oxide release
L A Birder1, A J Kanai, W C de Groat
1Department of Pharmacology, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
The Journal of Urology
|October 23, 1997
Summary
Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) applied to the bladder stimulates nerves and releases nitric oxide (NO), potentially desensitizing pain pathways in interstitial cystitis (IC) patients.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic bladder condition causing pain, urgency, and frequency.
- Patients with IC often have reduced nitric oxide synthase activity.
- Intravesical dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a treatment for symptomatic relief in IC.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if intravesical DMSO affects neural pathways controlling bladder function in rats.
- To determine if DMSO influences nitric oxide (NO) release in the bladder or from afferent neurons.
Main Methods:
- Examined effects of intravesical DMSO on reflex bladder activity, nerve firing, and c-fos expression in anesthetized rats.
- Monitored NO release from bladder strips and dorsal root ganglion cells in vitro using a porphyrinic microsensor.
Main Results:
- DMSO increased pelvic nerve efferent firing, reduced bladder capacity, and elevated c-fos expression in spinal cord.
- DMSO induced nitric oxide (NO) release from both bladder tissues and dorsal root ganglion neurons.
Conclusions:
- DMSO stimulates bladder afferent pathways and triggers NO release from afferent neurons.
- This NO release may initiate the desensitization of pain pathways in the lower urinary tract (LUT).