Dose-dependent inhibition of bladder function by saphenous nerve stimulation in urethane-anesthetized rats

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a chronic medical disorder affecting nearly 18% of the world’s adult population. Recently, we discovered a novel stimulation target; the saphenous nerve (SAFN) that can induce significant bladder-inhibitory effects in both pre-clinical and clinical experimental models. The aim of this paper is to further characterize this bladder inhibitory input via the SAFN afferents by modulating the stimulation parameters. To this end, acute experiments were conducted in 15 urethane anesthetized rats to examine the effects of increasing the duration of stimulation trials on multiple urodynamic parameters. The results of this study suggest that larger doses of SAFN stimulation elicit more potent bladder-inhibitory responses. Further work is needed to translate these findings in OAB patients.