Selective β 3 -Adrenoceptor Agonists for the Treatment of Overactive Bladder

Purpose: The bladder effects of isoprenaline, and selective β1 and β2-adrenoceptor agonists reported in early studies suggest that bladder β-adrenoceptors are atypical. Since there is a lack of alternatives to antimuscarinics in the treatment of overactive bladder symptoms, there has been an intensive search for new drug targets. Discovery of the β3-adrenoceptor with high expression in the bladder suggested that this receptor, which mediates detrusor relaxation, could be a target for overactive bladder symptoms.Materials and Methods: An overview of the published literature on β-adrenoceptor and the bladder was performed using MEDLINE®. The United States Food and Drug Administration website, clinicaltrials.gov and controlled-trials.com online trial registries were searched for English language articles containing the terms β3-adrenoceptors and β3-adrenoceptor agonists. In addition, abstracts from recent international scientific meetings were searched for randomized, controlled trials of β3-adrenoceptor ago...