Capsaicin-sensitive afferents and pain arising from the urinary bladder.

The use of capsaicin has allowed important advances in understanding the physiological and pathophysiological roles of the sensory innervation of the bladder and urethra. For the first time, a prototype drug is available that allows selective pahrmacological manipulation of bladder sensory nerves. Major roles of these primary afferents are the signaling of pain arising from the bladder and the production of neurogenic inflammation. Available evidence indicates that capsaicin-sensitive afferents are present in the human urinary bladder. It is expected that capsaicin itself or its analogs will be of great value for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in the urological field and particularly for treatment of painful disorders of the lower urinary tract.