The bladder is a hollow organ for receiving and storing urine produced during digestion before the urine is expelled from the body. The chemical conditions within the bladder, such as the pH, are constantly changing with the influx of new urine and expelling of urine from the bladder. The chemical characteristics of the urine itself are also constantly changing depending on the individual's recent meals, overall diet, timing between meals, present hydration, acute and chronic health conditions, and a plurality of other factors. The characteristics can change dramatically on a daily or even hourly basis. The constantly changing chemical characteristics of the bladder can make effectively delivering chemical drugs to the bladder difficult. In particular, effective long term drug treatments for the bladder are particularly challenging.
Treatment drugs are typically administered to the bladder by navigating a catheter through the urethra until and end of the catheter is positioned within the bladder. The treatment drug is then supplied via the lumen defined by the catheter and expelled within the bladder. If the chemical conditions within the bladder are not optimal when the drugs are administered, the drugs may not sufficiently dissolve to cover a sufficient area or diffuse over too great an area to effectively treat the disorder. In particular, if the pH of the urine is outside a predetermined range, the treatment drug could have little to no effect. The problem is further exaggerated with treatment drugs that are administered within the bladder in a form designed to be gradually administered over time such as time release drug capsules or ampules. The changing bladder conditions and constantly refreshing urine can cause the drugs to be administered either too quickly or too slowly, thereby preventing effective delivery of the drugs.
Presently, the effectiveness of the drug administration process in the bladder is improved by doubling the concentration of the drug to overcome unfavorable conditions or by combining the treatment drugs with a buffering solution to effectively create the desired conditions for a period of time. Although these approaches can improve the efficacy of long term drug treatments to the bladder, these approaches are not without significant drawbacks. Increasing the concentration of the drugs that are initially delivered reduces the likelihood that the dosages that are administered will be insufficient. However, the increased concentration also creates a possibility of an overdose in treatment drugs, which can lead to significant complications. Similarly, the buffering solution is an added chemical solution that can create side effects leading to additional complications for the patient. Long term administration of the drugs can further exaggerate the inherent drawbacks of these treatment methods.
The inability to consistently and effectively administer treatment drugs to the bladder over a long period of time can prevent effective treatment of certain disorders, such as cancer. As such, there is a need for a means of effective long term and consistent drug delivery within a bladder.