14 DAY TRIAL // If you have a bladder disorder, you're also likely to have unusual brain activity, say the results of an experiment involving rats with overactive bladders. And if this is true for rats, then humans with this disorder could also suffer significant changes in the activity of the brain, which could help explain some of the other problems accompanied by aging, such as disrupted sleep, attention problems and confusion.
"If you have an overactive bladder, you don't just have a bladder problem. It has neurobehavioural consequences," says neuroscientist Rita Valentino, from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.
Statistics indicated that up to 17 percent of the population of the United States is affected by this problem. Bladder disorders are usually determined by the partial obstruction of the urethra and manifest through uncontrolled bladder contractions, which in turn cause frequent urination. Thus, by surgically constricting the urethra of rats, Valentino and her colleagues were able to perfectly mimic bladder disorders occurring in people.
Following the procedure, the team observed how the brain activity of the rats evolves in time. The results show that the rodents that had their bladder outlet constricted experienced increased activity in a region of the brain known as the locus coeruleus, which is responsible for controlling the alertness in mammals. When the bladder is full, this particular area of the brain is activated and it signals the animal to stop all other activities and relieve itself.
But since the rats had their urethra constricted, the locus coeruleus appeared to remain active at all times. As a result, other regions of the brain also had their activities disrupted, such as the forebrain, responsible for the regulation of higher brain functions. After correlating the results to humans, scientists found out that this is most likely to lead to anxiety, disrupted sleep or other behavioral problems.
"This helps complete the puzzle of why overactive bladder symptoms are so disruptive to quality of life," says urologist Craig Comiter, of the Stanford University School of Medicine in California. Valentino also believes that the overactivation of the locus coeruleus could also occur in the case of disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, leading to similar psychiatric problems.