title: Short-Term Flavoxate Treatment Alters Detrusor Contractility Characteristics: Renewed Interest in Clinical Use?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Flavoxate has had a long history of use in the treatment of overactive bladder, despite the lack of documentation on its clinical efficacy and mechanism(s) of action. This study was conducted to understand how contractility characteristics of the detrusor are affected after a short period of flavoxate treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight-week-old mice were treated with flavoxate for 5 days and detrusor contractile responses were examined ex vivo under different pharmacological and electrical stimuli.
  
  
  RESULTS
  K(+) -Krebs'-induced contraction developed more slowly while 64 Hz electrical field stimulation-induced contraction developed faster in flavoxate-treated strips when compared to control. Amplitudes of maximal and steady-state contraction induced by 3 µmol/L carbachol were also larger after flavoxate treatment. Control strips showed an overall greater dependence on stimulus strength in eliciting the responses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings provided new information of how short-term flavoxate treatment altered contractility characteristics at the bladder level, which may instill new interest in investigating the use of this drug in bladder disorders not responding well to conventional treatments.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Unit, Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Hong C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Unit, Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Wai P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Lam
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Unit, Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Unit, Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.|State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Plant Resources in West China (Partner Laboratory in the Chinese University of Hong Kong), Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Ping C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Leung
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Unit, Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Yew
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Unit, Institute of Chinese Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Willmann
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005422:Flavoxate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000187:drug effects*; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000187:drug effects*; D064804:Urological Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D064804:Urological Agents; D005422:Flavoxate
keywords: contractility; detrusor; flavoxate; smooth muscle