• Lior Lowenstein, Kimberly Kenton, Elizabeth R Mueller, Linda Brubaker, Mary Heneghan, Judith Senka, and Mary Pat Fitzgerald.
• Division of Female Pelvic Medicine & Reconstructive Surgery, Departments of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Urology, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois, USA.
• Neurourol. Urodyn. 2009 Jan 1;28(5):400-4.

AimsTo compare cutaneous sensory thresholds, habituation to somatic stimuli, and tendency towards catastrophic reaction to painful stimuli in patients with Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS) to controls without PBS.MethodThermal and vibratory sensory thresholds were established in 11 PBS patients and 10 controls at C5, T1, T12, and S3 dermatomes. Supra-threshold thermal stimuli were then applied at T12 and S3 for 60 sec while patients periodically rated the intensity of stimuli using a visual analog scale. A Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) questionnaire was also completed by all participants before testing.ResultsPBS patients were less sensitive to warm stimuli in the T12 dermatome than asymptomatic controls (thresholds 36.6 +/- 1.10 degrees C vs. 35.3 +/- 1.0 degrees C, P < 0.02) but otherwise had similar thermal and vibratory thresholds. Habituation to supra-threshold stimuli at T12 and S3 dermatomes was more common in controls than PBS subjects (7 (70%) vs. 2 (18%), P < 0.03 and 9 (90%) vs. 3 (27%), P < 0.008, respectively). The PCS score correlated with the duration of PBS symptoms and with thresholds to warm stimuli at T12 dermatome (rho = 0.65, P < 0.03 and rho = 0.5, P < 0.021, respectively).ConclusionOur data suggests that habituation to stimuli may be impaired and that a catastrophic reaction to perceived stimuli may be involved in the sensory experience of PBS patients and facilitate chronic pain. Neurourol. Urodyn. 28:400-404, 2009. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

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