Vasoactive intestinal polypeptidergic innervation of human urinary bladder in normal and pathological conditions.

Urinary bladder biopsies from 31 multiple sclerosis patients, 9 diabetics, 5 patients after transtrigonal phenolization and 20 control patients were stained for acetylcholinesterase, S100 and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP). The VIP immunoreactivity was not decreased in all neuropathic bladders and its depletion was not related to cholinergic depletion. There was no correlation between bladder over- or underactivity and VIP content. VIP can act as a modulator of detrusor function in normal conditions. The significance of its depletion in neurogenic bladders needs further elaboration.