MarthaF
10-28-2006, 04:29 AM
I am writing as an IC "veteren" of several years. There is another approach to diagnosing/treating IC that most probably have not heard of or their doctors do not believe, but many of us have found healing through it. It is using a more extensive culturing technique called a broth culture, and this is usually able to uncover bacteria, i.e. an infection, that the typical lab cannot find or ignores. There is only one lab in the world that does this culture, United Medical Lab in McLean, VA. We all know the story of Dr. Barry Marshall, the scientist who discovered that stomach ulcers are caused by the H. pylori bacterium, and after years and years of working to prove this they awarded him the Nobel prize.
Some bacterial species take longer to grow and the 24 hour agar plate culture is not long enough for some to show up. Or the lab considers small numbers of some species as "contaminants". If specimens are collected carefully bacteria grown are usually pathogenic in a symptomatic person and should be considered and treated. It is hard to change the medical community's mind - they were taught the IC is not bacterial, period. But in over 100 years of looking they have not found a cause. They are only offering treatments which are moderately successful at best. It makes sense that bacteria can easily enter the female urethra and bladder. The symptoms of almost any type of bacteria are like a UTI, but the labs look for E. coli which grow faster and more easily. There are plenty of other species (most come from the intestines) and some are more pathogenic than others. They may invade the bladder wall or form biofilms that make it hard to detect them or hide from antibiotics.
We have conducted research which confirms that Enterococcus (a form of Streptococcus) is the most commonly missed pathogen in women. It grows slowly and the broth culture contains a nutrient that helps encourage it to emerge within several days. The labs do not think it is necessary to do more than 24 hours so miss this completely. We hope to publish the results of our research in the near future, but meanwhile scientists are working on better culturing techniques which will find many more pathogens. This is a molecular method (PCR) which can find most pathogens if present. Our reseach was based on PCR testing, but it is not available in the labs yet. Broth is an older but extensive method. The labs do not think it is necessary and it is more time-consuming and labor intensive so they don't bother.
If you are interested in sending a specimen you can call the lab and get instructions. It does not require a doctor's referral. They will do a sensitivity test also to tell you the best antibiotic which an MD can prescribe.
You can email me if you have any questions (mfmidlo@aol.com).
I have posted this information in the past but I know many of you are new and may not know about this. Doctors will dismiss this but it is the lack of good culturing that is not providing them with the right diagnosis.
I hope this will help some of you who want to try a different approach.
Martha Foster, Research Sponsor
Some bacterial species take longer to grow and the 24 hour agar plate culture is not long enough for some to show up. Or the lab considers small numbers of some species as "contaminants". If specimens are collected carefully bacteria grown are usually pathogenic in a symptomatic person and should be considered and treated. It is hard to change the medical community's mind - they were taught the IC is not bacterial, period. But in over 100 years of looking they have not found a cause. They are only offering treatments which are moderately successful at best. It makes sense that bacteria can easily enter the female urethra and bladder. The symptoms of almost any type of bacteria are like a UTI, but the labs look for E. coli which grow faster and more easily. There are plenty of other species (most come from the intestines) and some are more pathogenic than others. They may invade the bladder wall or form biofilms that make it hard to detect them or hide from antibiotics.
We have conducted research which confirms that Enterococcus (a form of Streptococcus) is the most commonly missed pathogen in women. It grows slowly and the broth culture contains a nutrient that helps encourage it to emerge within several days. The labs do not think it is necessary to do more than 24 hours so miss this completely. We hope to publish the results of our research in the near future, but meanwhile scientists are working on better culturing techniques which will find many more pathogens. This is a molecular method (PCR) which can find most pathogens if present. Our reseach was based on PCR testing, but it is not available in the labs yet. Broth is an older but extensive method. The labs do not think it is necessary and it is more time-consuming and labor intensive so they don't bother.
If you are interested in sending a specimen you can call the lab and get instructions. It does not require a doctor's referral. They will do a sensitivity test also to tell you the best antibiotic which an MD can prescribe.
You can email me if you have any questions (mfmidlo@aol.com).
I have posted this information in the past but I know many of you are new and may not know about this. Doctors will dismiss this but it is the lack of good culturing that is not providing them with the right diagnosis.
I hope this will help some of you who want to try a different approach.
Martha Foster, Research Sponsor