PHARMACOLOGICAL EXPERIMENTS IN AGED RAT URINARY BLADDER
II. Responses to ATP, Prostaglandin F2α, Serotonin, Angiotensin II and VIP
1990 Volume 81 Issue 1 Pages 31-36
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1990 Volume 81 Issue 1 Pages 31-36
To investigate the possible etiology of unstable bladder in the elderly, we investigated the responses of the aged rat bladder (16 and 24 months old) to 5 non-cholinergic, non-adrenergic neurotransmitters in comparison with the young rat bladder (6 months old). The drugs used were adenosine triphosphate, prostgalandin F2α, serotonin, angiotensin II and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide.
1) The responses of 24-month-old rat bladders to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were significantly greater than those of 6- and 16-month-old rats.
2) Prostaglandin F2α made no difference in responses among three age groups.
3) The responses to serotonin of 24-month-old rat bladders were greater than those of the other two groups.
4) There was no difference in responses to angiotensin II in three age groups.
5) No response to vasoactive intestinal polypeptide was observed in all age groups.
It is probable that the supersensitive responses to ATP and serotonin, observed in the aged rat bladders, may contribute to the development of unstable bladder in elderly people.
