Bladder and urethral sphincter responses evoked by microstimulation of S2 sacral spinal cord in spinal cord intact and chronic spinal cord injured cats

Abstract

Urinary bladder and urethral sphincter responses evoked by bladder distention, ventral root stimulation, or microstimulation of S2 segment of the sacral spinal cord were investigated under α-chloralose anesthesia in cats with an intact spinal cord and in chronic spinal cord injured (SCI) cats 6–8 weeks after spinal cord transection at T9–T10 spinal segment. Both SCI and normal cats exhibited large amplitude reflex bladder contractions when the bladder was fully distended. SCI cats also exhibited hyperreflexic bladder contractions during filling and detrusor–sphincter dyssynergia during voiding, neither was observed in normal cats. Electrical stimulation of the ventral roots revealed that the S2 sacral spinal cord was the most effective segment for evoking large amplitude bladder contractions or voiding in both types of cats. Microstimulation with a stimulus intensity of 100 μA and duration of 30–60 s via a single microelectrode in the S2 lateral ventral horn or ventral funiculus evoked large amplitude bladder contractions with small urethral contractions in both normal and SCI cats. However, this stimulation evoked incomplete voiding due to either co-activation of the urethral sphincter or detrusor–sphincter dyssynergia. Stimulation in the S2 dorsal horn evoked large amplitude sphincter responses. The effectiveness of spinal cord microstimulation with a single electrode to induce prominent bladder and urethral sphincter responses in SCI animals demonstrates the potential for using microstimulation techniques to modulate lower urinary tract function in patients with neurogenic voiding dysfunctions.