Study summary · research use only
Therapeutic Potential of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Against Overactive Bladder
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
This review discusses human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) as a potential approach for overactive bladder (OAB), a form of urinary incontinence involving spontaneous, random bladder contractions. The abstract reports that human detrusor muscle contains hCG receptors, that detrusor muscle becomes quiescent during pregnancy, that hCG inhibited detrusor muscle contractions induced by cholinergic stimulation in rats, and that hCG mimicked the action of an anticholinergic drug on detrusor muscle contractions. The authors describe these findings as supporting further investigation of hCG for OAB, noting that current OAB drugs are described in the abstract as having serious side effects.
Abstract
Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common form of urinary incontinence, resulting from spontaneous and random contractions of the urinary bladder. The affected individuals have an uncontrollable urge to urinate and experience incontinence and nocturia, which can greatly reduce the quality of daily life. There are several drugs for the treatment, and all of them have serious side effects. The following findings suggested that human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) has a therapeutic potential that is worth investigating for the treatment of OAB. The finding are (1) human detrusor muscle contains hCG receptors, (2) detrusor muscle becomes quiescent during pregnancy, (3) hCG can inhibit detrusor muscle contractions induced by cholinergic stimulation in rats, and (4) hCG can mimic the anticholinergic drug on detrusor muscle contractions.
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