Roles of opiate in lower urinary tract dysfunction associated with spinal cord injury in rats.

Purpose: It has been reported that the opiate receptor system in the spinal cord is involved in bladder and urethral function. We determined whether U-50488 (trans-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]-benzeneacetamide), a kappa opioid receptor agonist, could decrease detrusor-sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) and, thus, improve voiding efficiency in conscious, spinal cord injured (SCI) rats.

Materials And Methods: Experiments were done in female Sprague-Dawley rats in which the spinal cord was completely transected at the T6-8 level 4 weeks prior to performing cystometry while conscious and held in a restraining cage.