Overactive bladder (OAB) is common and has a negative impact on a patient's quality of life. It is important for physicians to know how to identify and manage patients with this condition. Usually only basic clinical evaluations and a good patient history are necessary to diagnose OAB. Effective and safe oral therapy is available and can be initiated by primary care physicians.

Overactive bladder is a condition whose prevalence increases with ageing, and which can substantially impair quality of life. It is defined by presence of urinary urgency, in the absence of other causes of similar problems. The underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood, but may include increased excitability of smooth muscle, abnormal spread of excitation through the bladder wall, incre...

BACKGROUND While overactive bladder is often managed in the primary care setting, a number of barriers including embarrassment, poor communication, and low patient adherence contribute to the under-treatment of patients with burdensome urinary symptoms. In order to address these challenges, it is crucial to have a fundamental understanding of patient perspectives toward OAB and urinary symptoms...

Estrogens are crucial for the proper functioning of genitourinary tract. Hypoestrogenism related to menopause could be linked to numerous disturbances of lower urinary tract. However, the results of most well designed clinical studies do not support use of estrogen or hormone replacement therapy for the treatment of genitourinary symptoms. According to evidence base medicine stress urinary inco...

It is well known that acupuncture treatment has an effect on patients with an overactive bladder, but the mechanism of its action remains to be clarified. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture on bladder overactivity, and the excitability of interstitial cells of Cajal of the bladder in a rat model of partial bladder outlet obstruction. Electroacupuncture (continuous wa...

BACKGROUND Alpinia oxyphylla (Zingiberaceae), an herbaceous perennial plant, its capsular fruit is commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of different urinary incontinence symptoms including frequency, urgency and nocturia. These symptoms are similar to the overactive bladder syndrome. In our lab, we found that the 95% ethanol extract of the capsular fruits exhibited si...

Overactive bladder is a common, debilitating condition for many patients who may benefit from pharmacological management of their condition. However, adherence to medication in this condition is markedly worse than other chronic medical conditions. This review explores what is known about persistence and the factors which influence medication adherence for overactive bladder, those factors that...