Biochemical evaluation of ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat bladder after acute urinary retention

Introduction: The aim of this study was to see the effects of ischemia-reperfusion injury on reactive oxygen species (ROS) in acute urinary retention and to determine whether these effects would be normalized by different antioxidant agents. Materials and Methods: We used 37 male Wistar Albino rats in our research. We formed five groups totally, as a combination of 1 sham, 1 retention and 3 treatment groups including 5, 8, 8 male rats in each group respectively. In the treatment groups allopurinol and/or verapamil were used. After clamping the rat penile urethra, diuresis was forced and overdistension was maintained. After 30 minutes under overdistension the rat's bladder was emptied with 3F catheter. After reperfusion of their bladders and waiting for 30 minutes in this condition, the rats were sacrificed. Bladder tissue samples were taken and malondialdehyde (MDA) & myeloperoxidase (MPO) measurements were made. Results: In the retention group both MDA and MPO levels were increased significantly when compared with the sham group. In the treatment groups, decreases in MDA and MPO levels were found statistically important when compared with the retention group. We didn't find any significant difference between treatment and sham group, and within the treatment groups. Conclusion: The MDA and MPO increase in the retention group show that the decompression following acute urinary retention, leads ischemia reperfusion injury in the bladder and leukocytes have a role in this injury. We found that both allopurinol and verapamil were effective in decreasing the injury and the combination of these agents, compared with the mono-treatment, didn't make any additional benefit