Detrol at bedtime eases overactive bladder in men

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking extended release Detrol at bedtime can help reduce urinary frequency and urgency in men with overactive bladder and frequent nighttime urination or "nocturia," a study shows.

People with overactive bladder experience a frequent urge to urinate, and may lose bladder control, Dr. Steven A. Kaplan of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City and colleagues note in the journal Urology.

The condition becomes more common as people age, and has been tied to worse sleep and an increased risk of having symptoms of depression.

Detrol (also known as tolterodine) has been found to be effective for treating overactive bladder, but there has been little research on its effects in men, Kaplan and his team note.

Therefore, they studied the effectiveness and safety of extended-release Detrol in 745 men with overactive bladder and nocturia. Most of the men in the study were not incontinent.

Detrol reduced the 24-hour, daytime and nighttime overactive bladder symptoms, the team reports.

Overall, men who took the drug showed a reduction in symptoms of urinary frequency and also urinated less frequently than men on placebo, although there was no significant difference between the two groups in the number of nighttime urinations after 12 weeks on the drug.

The main side effect was dry mouth, seen in 11 percent of the men who took Detrol.

Kaplan and his team conclude that the drug is effective in reducing urinary urgency among men with overactive bladder, and is well tolerated.

Pfizer, the company that makes Detrol, funded the study.

SOURCE: Urology, August 2006.