A new look at detrusor underactivity: impaired contractility versus afferent dysfunction.

Detrusor underactivity (DU) is a clinical condition that describes a bladder dysfunction marked by failure of the bladder to generate sufficient contraction strength to empty over a reasonable time period. DU affects both the elderly and patients with disease processes such as diabetes mellitus. Once assumed to be a motor contractility problem, the etiology of DU now appears to be more dynamic, necessitating a new look at afferent dysfunction.