Neurogenic bladder is a condition that can accompany trauma such as spinal cord injury or diseases that affect the nervous system. Individuals with the condition lack bladder control. Specialists at the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute offer a range of treatments for this problem and is continually pursuing research to develop more effective therapies.
What is neurogenic bladder?
Neurogenic bladder is a complication that can attend diseases or traumas that damage those aspects of the nervous system that monitor and control bladder functions such as filling and release. Depending on the nerves involved and nature of the damage, the bladder becomes either overactive (spastic or hyper-reflexive) or underactive (flaccid or hypotonic).
Individuals with overactive bladder have little to no control voiding functions. Their bladders release urine spontaneously and frequently though not completely. Their bladders become diminished because they are seldom filled to capacity. Because their bladders tend to retain small quantities of urine, their risks of urinary tract infections are significantly increased.
Neurogenic underactive bladders have the opposite characteristics. Because there is damage to the neural system that informs the brain the bladder is full, the bladder continues to fill and may expand beyond the size and capacity of normal bladders. At a certain point the pressure of urine in the bladder will overcome the sphincter muscles ability to retain it and urine will leak out. Like the overactive bladders, underactive bladders fail to empty completely and retain a small amount of residual urine.
