Electroacupuncture Alleviates Bladder Overactivity via Inhabiting Bladder P2X3 Receptor

Mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in treating overactive bladder

Overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) has made increasing progress in mechanism and treatment research. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a common complementary therapy for OAB, and it has been found to be effective. However, the intervention mechanism of TCM in the treatment of OAB is still unclear. The aim of this review is to consolidate the current knowledge about the mechanism of TCM: acupuncture, moxibustion, herbs in treating OAB, and the animal models of OAB commonly used in TCM. Finally, we put forward the dilemma of TCM treatment of OAB and discussed the insufficiency and future direction of TCM treatment of OAB.

Complementary therapies in the control of male lower urinary tract symptoms: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

to evaluate diverse scientific evidence on the effectiveness of complementary therapies in the control of lower urinary tract symptoms in the adult and aged male population.

METHOD

a systematic review developed according to the PRISMA checklist. The search was performed in the CINAHL, Embase, LILACS, PEDro, PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar databases.

RESULTS

a total of 585 records were identified and 12 clinical trials were selected that met the inclusion criteria. The outcomes considered by the studies for analyzing effectiveness of the complementary therapies were validated questionnaires to assess the severity of the lower urinary tract symptoms (sensation of incomplete bladder emptying, frequent urination, intermittent flow, weak flow, pain or difficulty urinating, nocturia and urgency) and urodynamics parameters. The studies analyzed the complementary phytotherapy (n=8) and electroacupuncture (n=4) therapies. Six studies related to phytotherapy showed statistical significance. Electroacupuncture showed a significant improvement in the symptoms in two studies.

CONCLUSION

pytotherapy was effective to control the simptoms related to frequency, urgency, nocturia, incomplete emptying, intermittence, weak flow and effort to initiate urination. To confirm the effectiveness of electroacupuncture, research studies with well-designed methodologies will also be necessary to resolve the divergences between the studies of this review.