[Changes in muscarinic receptors of the aging bladder].

The prevalence of the overactive bladder syndrome (OAB) increases with age. Unfortunately, treatment of the condition is still unsatisfactory. Since muscarinic receptor antagonists are the only effective drug treatment to date, it is logical to assume that muscarinic receptors play an important role in the pathogenesis of OAB. Muscarinic receptors are involved in both the normal and overactive detrusor contraction, and age-dependent changes in muscarinic receptor functions have been found in both animals and human detrusors. In animals as well as humans, two components of detrusor contraction have been demonstrated, the dominating one mediated by muscarinic receptors and the other by ATP (atropine-resistant component). The muscarinic receptor-mediated component decreases with age, and the ATP (purinergic) part increases. However, the clinical consequence of this is unclear, since no major age-dependent changes in the efficacy of antimuscarinic agents in the treatment of OAB have been demonstrated.