Relationship between urinary symptoms and disease-related parameters in multiple sclerosis.

OBJECTIVE: To find the prevalence of voiding dysfunction in patients with multiple sclerosis and to examine the relationship between the voiding dysfunction and various parameters of the disease (disease severity, disease duration, lesion site, age and sex).
METHODS: Using the International prostate symptom score, lower urinary tract symptoms were quantitatively evaluated in all patients with multiple sclerosis who had visited our neurological department during three months. The lesion site in the central nervous system was determined by a combination of neurological and magnetic resonance imaging findings.
RESULTS: Of the 47 patients who had completed the questionnaire, 25 (53 %) were considered to have symptomatic voiding dysfunction. Even at early stage of the disability, 6 of 19 (32 %) patients were symptomatic. Eight (17 %) patients had irritative urinary symptoms alone, whereas 9 (19 %) patients had obstructive urinary symptoms alone. The irritative and obstructive symptoms were concomitant in 10 (21 %) patients. Compared with reports from Western countries, the ratio of obstructive symptoms to irritative symptoms was high in Japan. The degree of irritative symptoms was well correlated with the disease severity, whereas the correlation of obstructive symptoms with the disease severity was less significant. Irritative symptoms also showed a weak correlation with the disease duration, but obstructive symptoms did not. Among the lesion sites in the central nervous system, only the presence of the spinal cord lesion was related to the degree of urinary symptoms. Urinary symptoms were not significantly influenced by the age or the sex. Quality of life was disturbed by urinary symptoms, and this disturbance paralleled the disease severity.
CONCLUSION: Urinary symptoms, especially irritative symptoms, reflect the condition of the disease. Thus, the quantified urinary symptoms may assist neurological diagnosis.