Effectiveness of Bryophyllum in Nocturia-Therapy

In the therapeutic concept of the treatment of OAB, antimuscarinic drugs play a central role. Antimuscarinics are known to inhibit the contraction of detrusor muscle (smooth muscle cells) and block the muscarinic receptor (M2/M3) important for efferent nerve conduction. This conventional therapy for OAB can have important adverse effects, notably on the gastrointestinal tract with constipation, on the excretory glands in the sense of xerostomia/xerophthalmia, on the nerve cells of the brain inhibiting cognitive function and in the heart muscle cells accelerating the heart rate. Especially elderly people are affected by these undesirable effects. Because of changes in the receptor profile, the effect of antimuscarinics and improvement of symptoms might be lowered in elderly people and another substance with less side effects would be of great interest. No such adverse effects are reported for B. pinnatum. Until now, there are few data for its use in OAB. Efficacy and tolerability of B. pinnatum in the treatment of OAB are the major outcome measures of this clinical trial. * 50 women are included in this observational study, treated with Bryophyllum pinnatum in form of the commercially available Bryophyllum tablets into capsules (verum: 2x2capsules/day). Recruitment time is planned from January, 2018 to January 2022. * Duration of the drug administration is 3 weeks. * Primary endpoint are the reduction of nocturia (measured by filling in a voiding dairy) and the change of sleep-quality (measured by using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) * secondary endpoints are the improvement of quality of life (measured by using the King's Health Questionnaire and the International Consultation on Incontinence Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (ICIQ-OAB), two questionnaires, validated for the German language and for women with incontinence), increase of the micturition volumes and reduction of urge episodes (measured by the patients and recorded in a voiding dairy) and the registration of adverse events during the study phase. Ethics committee approval has been given.