One of the most promising lines of research in urology today is the study of the biome, the diverse population of bacteria and fungi that live harmoniously in the human body. In previous MAPP Research Network studies, IC patients were found to have high levels of candida/fungi in their urine during flares.(1) Another found [...]
Dr. Jeannette Potts Fights Chronic Prostatitis Misdiagnosis and Label - If you've been told that your pelvic pain is the result of chronic prostatitis, you are not alone. If you've spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars on various "prostate centric" antibiotics and other prescriptions, you're in the company of millions of men who, it turns [...]
67% of Patients Struggle to Pay For the Only Oral Drug Approved for IC/BPS by the US FDA When the patent expired on Elmiron® in January 2010, the IC patient community expected the rapid release of a more affordable generic medication. Swati Spentose, a company located in India, has produced a generic pentosan polysulfate (Brand [...]
A New ICN Survey (March 2017) The pain of interstitial cystitis has been rated equivalent to cancer pain using the McGill pain scale in various research studies. Yet, despite what can be very intense pain, many patients have been struggling to receive pain treatment or denied pain medication. With the 2016 release of the [...]
Behind the redness, swelling, heat and pain of any infection or injury, a biological war is occurring. Injured cells release chemicals that alert our immune system that something is wrong. One of these chemicals, chemokines, attract and direct white blood cells (i.e. macrophages, lymphocytes) to the injured area where they swarm and kill invading bacteria [...]
LiRIS Found Safe & Effective In First Formal Hunner’s Lesion Study When the first round of LiRIS studies were conducted several years ago, researchers were stunned to see that some Hunner’s lesions healed after just a two week treatment with this innovative medical device devel- oped at MIT. LiRIS was originally intended as a pain [...]
Dr. Eliot Lander On Stem Cell Therapy For IC #1 - As the only researcher in the world studying the use of stem cells in the treatment of interstitial cystitis, you have opened a potential new line of therapy. Is your most recent round of data encouraging?? I strongly believe that adult mesenchymal stem cells will [...]
CUA IC/BPS Guidelines Adopted Why have so many interstitial cystitis patients in Canada come to the USA for care? Despite the glowing reviews about universal health care, there is a sad IC truth behind the scenes north of the border. There is no national IC organization to advocate on their behalf. Only a handful of physicians in [...]
Neuromodulation uses a mild electrical impulse on various nerves to help maintain appropriate nerve function in the bladder. Two different forms of neuromodulation are available: post-tibial nerve stimulation (Urgent PC® by Congentix Medical) and sacral or pudendal nerve stimulation (Interstim® by Medtronic). Both procedures are FDA and Medicare approved for urinary frequency, urgency, incontinence and overactive [...]
Earlier this year, the International Continence Society released new terminology standards to aid in the diagnosis of ALL chronic pelvic pain disorders, including those that affect the bladder(1). This is a powerful document that will help physicians and patients identify and classify potential sources of their pelvic pain. Consider the plight of a young patient with [...]
