Investigation of Brain Mechanisms Involved in the Urinary Continence Mechanism Associated With Aging

May 6, 2026 updated by: Becky Clarkson, University of Pittsburgh
Urge urinary incontinence (UUI) is a common problem in older people which vastly reduces quality of life, yet the cause and mechanism of disease are not well understood. This study will characterize brain control of the bladder in young and old continent individuals and age-matched incontinent counterparts. This will expand the investigators current knowledge of how the brain controls the bladder, how that control changes with age and disease, and suggest new targets to guide development of better treatment.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Current data suggest that bladder control comprises 3 cerebral circuits that maintain continence by suppressing the voiding reflex in the midbrain. In the UUI phenotype that responded to BFB (Biofeedback assisted pelvic floor muscle therapy), the mechanism involved enhancing deactivation of the first brain circuit (medial prefrontal cortex, mPFC) which resulted in less activation of the second circuit (which includes the midcingulate cortex). In the phenotype that was resistant to BFB, no brain changes were seen. Although the investigators have an emerging picture of the brain's role in UUI, the investigators have only rudimentary understanding of what is 'normal', i.e. how the brain normally controls the bladder. Moreover, the investigators do not know whether this control mechanism is the same across the lifespan, or whether it changes owing to the impact of aging. Thus, the investigators aims are to characterize the brain's normal role in bladder control in both young and old people, to determine the changes in brain structure and function that lead to bladder control failure (UUI), and to examine how such changes differ between young and old individuals. To address the aims, the investigators will utilize detailed neuroimaging to evaluate 80 asymptomatic women and 80 women with UUI, each group divided into young (18-45) and old (65+ years) individuals. The study will enable the investigators to define the brain's key structures, functional activity, and mechanisms involved in normal bladder control, and to identify the differences in these elements among those with UUI, both young and old.

By elucidating the mechanisms that mediate the brain's control (and loss of control) of bladder function, the proposed study should enhance the investigators working model, deepen the understanding of the impact of aging, and identify better targets for the treatment of UUI. It may thereby enable scientists to develop novel and more effective new therapies based on the revolution in neuroscience-and more hope for UUI sufferers.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
207

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.
  • Name: Becky Clarkson, PhD
  • Phone Number: 412-647-1270
  • Email: bdc29@pitt.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
        • University of Pittsburgh

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 'Old' (community-dwelling, mentally and functionally intact ambulatory women aged 65+ years) or 'Young' (equivalent women aged 18-45)
  • 'Wet' (those who meet the International Continence Society definition of urgency urinary incontinence (urinary leakage accompanied by a sudden, strong urge to void which is difficult to defer) >5 times per week, for 3 months despite treatment for reversible causes (e.g., Urinary tract infection) and confirmed by a mean of one episode per day of UUI on 3-day bladder diary) or 'Dry' (women without current or past UUI or other lower urinary tract symptoms.) Infrequent stress incontinence of a small amount is acceptable.
  • Urge-predominant mixed incontinence is acceptable provided the subject is able to differentiate between stress incontinence (SUI - leakage that coincides instantaneously with cough, laugh, exercise) and urgency incontinence, i.e., leakage accompanied by a sudden strong urge to void that is difficult to defer.
  • Those with current or previous use of anticholinergic/beta-3 agonist medications will be considered for the study if they are willing to go through a washout period of at least 4 weeks of duration.

Exclusion Criteria:

Dry Groups

  • Current or prior treatment for UUI
  • Leakage on bladder diary not ascribed to minimal SUI (see bullet above)

All Groups: 'Wet' or 'Dry'; 'Young' or 'Old'

  • Cognitive impairment:

    • MoCA<26
    • inability to perform a voiding diary/pad test
    • inability to reliably take daily medication
    • inability to comply with fMRI testing

  • Impaired mobility

    o Timed up and go test ≥ 12 secs

  • Medical instability:

    • severe uncontrolled hypertension >180mmHg systolic or >100mmHg diastolic
    • potential major changes in medical management over the course of the study period (i.e. upcoming surgery/treatment)
    • frailty according to the Fried criteria

  • MRI incompatibility:

    • contraindicated metal implants
    • claustrophobia
    • unidentified/untested compatibility of metal implants

  • Medication incompatibility:

    • allergy to study medication (all prophylactic antibiotic choices)
    • interaction of prophylactic antibiotic choices with current medications
    • expected change in medication during the study

  • Neurological conditions:

    • spinal cord injury;
    • multiple sclerosis
    • clinically apparent lesions (e.g. lacunae associated with stroke)
    • prior stroke
    • Parkinson's Disease/ALS/MSA
    • any clinically apparent neurological condition

  • Lower urinary tract comorbidities/treatment:

    • history of pelvic irradiation
    • bladder or advanced uterine cancer
    • possible urethral obstruction (advanced prolapse [POP-Q>II] or Qmax<12 ml/s on free flow)
    • urinary retention (PVR >200 ml)
    • Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome
    • artificial sphincter implant
    • Botox treatment for UUI within 1 year
    • Neuromodulation treatment for UUI

  • Other comorbidities:

    • uncontrolled depression (PHQ-9 ≥10)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Brain functional MRI with simplified urodynamics
Females with urgency urinary incontinence
Other: Brain functional MRI with simplified urodynamics

Structural:

MPRAGE provides a structural image, which is used for coregistration of subjects. Structural scans are then performed including Diffusion Spectrum Imaging (DSI; microstructural), and Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR; white matter specific) scans.

Functional:

With about 50 ml in the bladder, resting state functional BOLD measurements are made, followed by functional whole-brain images while a small amount of saline is infused and withdrawn from the bladder, in 2 blocks of 4 repetitions each. Each repetition starts with a 12-scan pause, followed by infusion (6 scans = 12 s), pause (6 scans), and withdrawal (6 scans). Each block of 4 repetitions is completed by a 6 scan pause during which scanning continues. 24 ml is infused at 120 ml/min, and slightly less is withdrawn to avoid accommodation.This is repeated on an empty and full bladder along with a resting state image.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
BOLD (Blood oxygen level dependent) fMRI signal contrast - mPFC
Time Frame: Baseline
BOLD signal contrast - voxel-wise subtraction of normalized brain activity signal measure (BOLD response) during bladder fluid withdrawal from that during bladder infusion in the a priori defined mPFC region. Since BOLD signal represents the normalized contrast in fMRI signal between two states as a proxy for cerebral blood flow, it does not have a unit.
Baseline
BOLD (Blood oxygen level dependent) fMRI signal contrast - insula
Time Frame: Baseline
BOLD signal contrast - voxel-wise subtraction of normalized brain activity signal measure (BOLD response) during bladder fluid withdrawal from that during bladder infusion in the a priori defined insula region. Since BOLD signal represents the normalized contrast in fMRI signal between two states as a proxy for cerebral blood flow, it does not have a unit.
Baseline
BOLD (Blood oxygen level dependent) fMRI signal contrast - dACC
Time Frame: Baseline
BOLD signal contrast - voxel-wise subtraction of normalized brain activity signal measure (BOLD response) during bladder fluid withdrawal from that during bladder infusion in the a priori defined dACC region. Since BOLD signal represents the normalized contrast in fMRI signal between two states as a proxy for cerebral blood flow, it does not have a unit.
Baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Changes in brain structural integrity
Time Frame: 15 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Difference in structural integrity of connective tracts will be compared using ANOVA to compare the four groups (old dry/old wet/young dry/young wet). Measure of structural integrity (normalized quantitative anisotropy, NQA), which describes the diffusion of water molecules around neuronal compartments (e.g., myelin, neurofilaments and microtubules) will be extracted from each individual and compared across groups.
15 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Changes in brain structural integrity
Time Frame: 15 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Difference in structural integrity of connective tracts will be compared using ANOVA to compare the four groups (old dry/old wet/young dry/young wet). Measure of structural integrity (generalized fractional anisotropy, GFA), which describes the diffusion of water molecules around neuronal compartments (e.g., myelin, neurofilaments and microtubules) will be extracted from each individual and compared across groups.
15 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Functional connectivity during infusion/withdrawal task
Time Frame: 20 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Functional connectivity calculated using generalized psychophysiological interaction (gPPI) analysis for each ROI (Eigenvariate time series; no units) will be extracted from the BOLD signal and a regression analysis performed, modeling the infusion/withdrawal blocks and the a priori ROI time series (mPFC, dACC/SMA, Insula) and its interactions with 'infuse' and 'withdraw' blocks.
20 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Resting state analysis
Time Frame: 10 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Resting state connectivity will be calculated by extracting the eigenvariate (no units) of three a priori selected ROIs (mPFC, dACC/SMA, Insula) and calculate voxel-wise connectivity maps for each region. Regional homogeneity evaluates regional changes in connectedness corresponding to local activation (temporal and spatial) between groups.
10 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Differences in volume of brain structures
Time Frame: 10 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Difference in grey matter volume (mm^3) on MRI as calculated by voxel based morphometry using ANOVA to compare the four groups (old dry/old wet/young dry/young wet). Grey matter volume of important brain structures will be compared.
10 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Differences in white matter damage of brain structures
Time Frame: 10 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan
Difference in volume of white matter damage (mm^3) on MRI using ANOVA to compare the four groups (old dry/old wet/young dry/young wet). Global volume of white matter damage will be compared. along with damage location.
10 minutes of 1 hour MRI scan

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Pittsburgh

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Becky Clarkson, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 14, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 31, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 1, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 21, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 22, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
May 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 6, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STUDY20080217
  • R01AG065288 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All of the individual participant data collected during the trial, after de-identification may be shared with other researchers.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Following publication, no end date

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Any purpose

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF
  • CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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