title: Drug therapy for urinary incontinence.
abstract: Drugs used for treatment of urinary incontinence may act on the central nervous system (CNS) or peripherally. Few drugs with a defined CNS site of action are available for treatment of urine storage disorders; most of those currently used have a peripheral site of action. To treat bladder overactivity associated with urgency and urge incontinence, antimuscarinic drugs, alpha-adrenoceptor antagonists, beta-adrenoceptor agonists, prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors, and several other agents most often developed for non-urological indications, are employed. Current treatment is based on the use of antimuscarinic drugs, and oxybutynin is, despite a high incidence of side-effects, the gold standard. Pharmacological treatment of stress incontinence has had limited success, and only alpha-adrenoceptor agonists, with and without combination with oestrogens have had a documented effect. New drugs, specifically directed at treatment of urine storage disorders, are desirable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Lund University Hospital, Sweden.
authors.forename: K E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Andersson
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011976:Receptors, Muscarinic / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014549:Urinary Incontinence / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D014550:Urinary Incontinence, Stress / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D018727:Muscarinic Antagonists; D011976:Receptors, Muscarinic