Simultaneous arterial and urinary bladder pressure recordings in multiple system atrophy and in spinal disorders with detrusor hyperreflexia.

Simultaneous arterial and urinary bladder pressure measurements were recorded during bladder filling in 21 patients with urinary bladder symptoms; seven patients had autonomic failure due to multiple system atrophy (MSA), seven had spinal cord disease of different aetiology with detrusor hyperreflexia (DH) and seven had no neurological abnormalities. A significant increase in average systolic blood pressure (BP) was recorded on bladder filling in the neurologically intact patients (from 110 to 137 mmHg) and in the patients with spinal cord disease and DH (from 109 to 129 mmHg). In those with MSA, the BP rose in four and fell in three patients. The vesicopressor response during cold receptor-mediated DH was not significantly higher when compared with room-temperature saline and when compared with the BP response during bladder filling in the neurologically intact patients. Finally, intravesical lignocaine retained in the bladder for 15 min did not influence the BP response to cold receptor stimulation in patients with spinal cord disease and DH. These findings and their pathophysiological and clinical implications are discussed.