Modulation of urinary bladder innervation: TRPV1 and botulinum toxin A

Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2011:(202):345-74. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-16499-6_17.

Abstract

The persisting interest around neurotoxins such as vanilloids and botulinum toxin (BoNT) derives from their marked effect on detrusor overactivity refractory to conventional antimuscarinic treatments. In addition, both are administered by intravesical route. This offers three potential advantages. First, intravesical therapy is an easy way to provide high concentrations of pharmacological agents in the bladder tissue without causing unsuitable levels in other organs. Second, drugs effective on the bladder, but inappropriate for systemic administration, can be safely used as it is the case of vanilloids and BoNT. Third, the effects of one single treatment might be extremely longlasting, contributing to render these therapies highly attractive to patients despite the fact that the reasons to the prolonged effect are still incompletely understood. Attractive as it may be, intravesical pharmacological therapy should still be considered as a second-line treatment in patients refractory to conventional oral antimuscarinic therapy or who do not tolerate its systemic side effects. However, the increasing off-label use of these neurotoxins justifies a reappraisal of their pharmacological properties.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Intravesical
  • Animals
  • Botulinum Toxins, Type A / administration & dosage
  • Botulinum Toxins, Type A / adverse effects
  • Botulinum Toxins, Type A / therapeutic use*
  • Humans
  • Muscarinic Antagonists / therapeutic use
  • Neurotoxins / administration & dosage
  • Neurotoxins / adverse effects
  • Neurotoxins / therapeutic use*
  • TRPV Cation Channels / drug effects*
  • TRPV Cation Channels / metabolism
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Urinary Bladder / drug effects*
  • Urinary Bladder / innervation
  • Urinary Bladder / metabolism
  • Urinary Bladder, Overactive / drug therapy*
  • Urinary Bladder, Overactive / metabolism
  • Urinary Bladder, Overactive / physiopathology

Substances

  • Muscarinic Antagonists
  • Neurotoxins
  • TRPV Cation Channels
  • TRPV1 protein, human
  • Botulinum Toxins, Type A