Korean J Urol.  1998 Mar;39(3):223-226.

Effect of Ethanol on the Contractility of the Muscle Strips of the Bladder Neck in the Rabbit

• Lee DH
• Suh HJ
• Yoon JY
• Kim JC
• Hwang TK

Abstract

PURPOSE: Ethanol is known to induce bladder neck contraction so that it may cause acute urinary retention in patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. We investigated whether ethanol has a-sympathomimetic effects in the bladder neck.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
36 New Zealand rabbits weighing from 2.5-3.0kg were used for this experiment. The rabbits were sacrificed by air embolism and the urinary bladder was immediately removed. The urinary bladder was dissected free from surrounding tissues and divided into the bladder body and neck in oxygenated Tyrode's solution. The bladder neck muscle strips were taken and the contractile responses to electrical field stimulation(2, 4, 8, 16 and 32Hz) and phenylephrine(1 mM), adenosine triphosphate(ATP, 100mM) and KCI(100mM)were measured.
RESULTS
The frequency-response curve by electrical stimulation in ethanol pretreated Tyrode's solution were attenuated, but tonic contractions were not affected. ATP induced contraction was also attenuated. Ethanol showed relaxing effects in the contractile responses elicited by phenylephrine and KCI.
CONCLUSIONS
From these studies, ethanol is shown to exert direct inhibitory action on bladder neck contraction presumably by lowering the calcium sensitivity of the smooth muscle in the rabbit.

Keyword

Smooth muscle contractility; Bladder neck; Ethanol; Rabbit

MeSH Terms

Adenosine
Adenosine Triphosphate
Calcium
Electric Stimulation
Embolism, Air
Ethanol*
Humans
Muscle, Smooth
Neck Muscles
Neck*
Oxygen
Phenylephrine
Prostatic Hyperplasia
Rabbits
Urinary Bladder*
Urinary Retention
Adenosine
Adenosine Triphosphate
Calcium
Ethanol
Oxygen
Phenylephrine