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Resumen ANTECEDENTES: El síndrome de Fowler es poco común, con predominio en mujeres jóvenes; se caracteriza por una actividad anormal, con contracciones repetidas en el esfínter uretral externo, en ausencia de enfermedad neurológica. CASO CLÍNICO: Paciente de 51 años, acudió a consulta por prolapso de órganos pélvicos con sensación de masa en la vagina y dificultad para orinar. En la videourodinamia se apreció una onda intermitente, con hipoactividad del detrusor y micción no coordinada, sin incontinencia, hallazgos característicos del síndrome de Fowler. Se le indicó terapia de aprendizaje de relajación del esfínter para coordinar la micción, posteriormente neuromodulación sacra. Durante el seguimiento se observó mejor coordinación y satisfacción después de orinar. CONCLUSIONES: La micción es un proceso complejo, que implica la integridad de la vía urinaria inferior y adecuado sinergismo con el sistema nervioso central, autónomo y somático. La falla en alguna de estas estructuras podría ocasionar un patrón miccional obstructivo.
Abstract BACKGROUND: Fowler's syndrome is a rare phenomenon mainly in young women in reproductive age with abnormal, repeated contractions in the external urethral sphincter without a neurological disease. CLINICAL CASE: 51-year-old woman with pelvic organ prolapse, symptoms of vaginal bulge and difficult micturition. A videourodynamic study was done showing intermittent waveform, detrusor hypoactivity and uncoordinated micturition without incontinence, suggestive of Fowler's syndrome. The patient underwent therapy for sphincter relaxation and sacral neuromodulation with good response. In the follow up with clinical improvement, referring being satisfied after micturition. CONCLUSIONS: Micturition is a complex process that needs integrity of the lower urinary tract and synergy between this and the central nervous system, autonomous and somatic. Failure in any of these structures can result in an obstructive pattern.
ABSTRACT
@#Objective To study the effects of nitroglycerin on urethral sphincter of chronic complete spinal cord injury female rats in vitro. Methods 30 SD female rats with 3 months old were transected at T10 spinal cord. After 8 weeks, the 10 rats with BBB scores ≤5 were selected as experimental group, and other 10 normal rats as control group. The difference of tension in both proximal segment (urethral smooth muscle strips) and distal segment (external urethral sphincter muscle strips) were surveyed before and after nitroglycerin 0.5 mg administration in bath. Results The tension of distal segment in control group reduced from (640.50±91.79) mg to (597.50±92.61) mg, and from (485.50±68.94) mg to (459.90±69.51) mg in experimental group. The difference between proximal segment and distal segment were (222.30±12.14) mg and (42.00±7.86) mg before and after administration in control group, and were (223.00±15.78) mg and (25.60±5.17) mg in experimental group. Conclusion The administration of nitroglycerin 0.5 mg in bath can reduce the tension of both urethral smooth muscle and external urethral sphincter in both normal and spinal cord injured rats. The relaxative effect on external urethral sphincter muscle of normal rats exceed that of injured ones, but approximate on urethral smooth muscle.
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PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to clarify the anatomy of the male rat urethra, and to establish a more accurate and consistent method for analyzing external urethral sphincter (EUS) contractility based on this clarified anatomy by comparing different muscle strip orientations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The whole urethra in male rats was investigated histologically using H/E and immunohistochemical staining. The contractility of the spiral (S) orientation of the entire proximal urethral (EUS) was then compared with the transverse (T) and the ring (R) orientations of the optimal portion, via electrical stimulation in an organ bath. RESULTS: In male rats, the urethral tract consisted of following parts: proximal urethra, transient urethra, urethral diverticula, and penile urethra. Throughout the proximal urethra, a layer of striated muscle fibers encircled the smooth muscle layers. The EUS contraction of the S, TM (Transverse, Middle of proximal urethra) and RM (Ring, Middle of proximal urethra) groups were 4.66+/-0.33mN, 2.92+/-0.33mN and 2.47+/-0.38mN, respectively. The strength of the EUS contraction of the S group was significantly higher than that of the TM. Group, but after adjusting the length, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike previous studies, showing striated muscle fibers limited to the lower half of the proximal urethra, we noted them throughout the whole proximal urethra. From our results, the spiral orientation of the entire urethra was found to be the optimal configuration for evaluating the contractility of the EUS using fast twitch muscle contractile testing.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Male , Rats , Baths , Diverticulum , Electric Stimulation , Muscle, Smooth , Muscle, Striated , UrethraABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To compare the sensitivity of transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) and voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) in assessing the opening of bladder neck and external urethral sphincter during the filling phase and voiding phase. METHOD: TRUS and VCUG were performed for visualizing the opening of bladder neck and external sphincter in 36 patients with a neurogenic bladder dysfunction and the sensitivity of two techniques was compared. The finding was considered to be a true positive when the opening of internal or external sphincter was visualized on either one of TRUS or VCUG. RESULTS: The sensitivity of TRUS was significantly higher than VCUG in visualizing the opening of bladder neck during the filling phase. However, there was no significant difference in the sensitivity of two techniques for the opening of external sphincter during filling phase or the opening of internal and external sphincters during voiding phase. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrate that the TRUS provides a satisfactory information and can be an alternative method to the radiological VCUG in visualizing the opening of bladder neck or external sphincter.