Aims In overactive bladder (OAB) research, different biomarkers have
been proposed as diagnostic tools and may be used to create individual
patient profiles. Assessing the diagnostic performance of biomarkers
would better outline their utility. Therefore, our aim was to
investigate the diagnostic value of four urinary biomarkers: human brain
derived neurotrophic factor (hBDNF), malondialdehyde (MDA), h nerve
growth factor (hNGF) and h 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine in women with OAB.
These are neurotrophins/oxidative stress markers that have been linked
to lower urinary tract symptoms. Methods A total of 105 women were
included in the study and distributed in two groups: a group with OAB (n
= 53) and a control group (n = 50). The levels of the biomarkers were
determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technique and they
were compared between the groups. If the Mann-Whitney test demonstrated
a statistically significant difference, receiver operating curves (ROC)
analysis was undertaken. Results When normalized to urinary creatinine,
hBDNF, MDA, and hNGF showed significantly increased values in women with
OAB as compared to controls, whereas 8-OHdG showed no significant
difference. The diagnostic performance of these biomarkers was analyzed
based on the area under the ROC curve (AUC). MDA had the highest AUC
(0.75), followed by hNGF (0.69) and hBDNF (0.67). Conclusions Our
findings suggest that MDA, a relatively novel biomarker in OAB research,
has a fair performance as a diagnostic tool for OAB. Moreover, urinary
neurotrophins (NGF and BDNF) as biomarkers may have a role in the
diagnostic pathways of women with OAB symptoms