Brain Effects of Sacral Neuromodulation

Sacral neuromodulation (SNM) has become an accepted treatment for patients with refractory lower urinary tract dysfunction such as urgency frequency syndrome, urgency incontinence, non-obstructive chronic urinary retention and chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Modulation of central afferent activity is considered critical to this therapeutic effect but the neural mechanisms are poorly understood. We hypothesize that SNM has a significant effect on brain activity detectable by positron emission tomography (PET).