Bladder telemetry: A new approach to evaluate micturition behavior under physiological and inflammatory conditions

Aims

To establish a new approach to cystometry using telemetry in conscious rats and to use this technique to determine the role of conscious decision making processes with respect to the initiation of voiding in physiological, inflammatory, and painful conditions.

Methods

The pressure transducer of a telemetric transmitter was implanted in the dome of the urinary bladder. After a recovery period of at least 1 month, several investigations of urodynamic parameters were performed after diuresis activation by a pulse of furosemide. The model was characterized by tolterodine and mirabegron under physiological conditions and same animals were reused to evaluate the modification of the voiding pattern under bladder inflammation induced by cyclophosphamide.

Results

The quality of traces and measurement of parameters recorded telemetrically were comparable to those with conventional cystometry. Furosemide induced a reproducible transient increase of urine production and a series of voids that persisted for 60 min. Tolterodine reduced the amplitude of micturition contractions although mirabegron was devoid of any effect. Seven hours after injection of CYP, voiding frequency increased significantly and the micturition amplitude contraction was not altered. However, the mean volume voided during individual micturitions and the total voided volume decreased. During a second exposure to furosemide 24H after CYP injection, the micturition pattern returned to control, however, the micturition volume was still lower than in control.

Conclusion

This telemetric model appears to be as accurate as previously described in conscious conventional cystometry, and allows the repeated evaluation of compounds which may modulate the voiding patterns. Neurourol. Urodynam. 36:308–315, 2017. © 2016 The Authors. Neurourology and Urodynamics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.