In May 2022, the American Urological Association released the long awaited update of their guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of IC/BPS. The guidelines provide an evidence based “best practice” approach for urologists and patients as they seek to treat IC/BPS symptoms. Developed originally in 2011 and revised in 2014, the 2022 guidelines provide new, [...]
(From The Editor: A case study is not a double blind placebo controlled study that establishes that a therapy is beneficial and safe. It is a report from a medical team that describes a unique patient case. Case studies help to build data for new treatments or to share new concerns. A few years ago, [...]
It is with delight that we introduce urologist Dr. Elise De, who has spent the majority of her career working with pelvic pain patients. She spent the past five years developing the pelvic health program at Massachusetts General Hospital where she co-edited the fabulous new book, Facing Pelvic Pain. In March 2022, she joined the [...]
Renowned IC researcher Dr. Curtis Nickel (Queens University Kington ON) gave a groundbreaking lecture (AUA 202o Annual Meeting) on the importance of beneficial bacteria in the urinary tract and just how dangerous and disruptive antibiotic therapy can be. He said “You are your microbiome. While it might only weigh 3 to 4 pounds, your body [...]
It is very clear that there is diversity in the IC patient population. Hunner’s lesion disease, genitourinary syndrome of menopause, pelvic floor dysfunction, pudendal neuralgia, central sensitization and chronic infection do not have the same anatomy nor treatments. But, with the exception of Dr. Christopher Payne’s five point system (1), there has been little discussion [...]
Platelet-rich plasma therapy uses a patients own blood cells and growth factors to improve and increase healing in the bladder. This treatment requires a blood sample from the patient which is then processed to separate the platelets from other components of blood. This solution is then injected into the bladder wall. The risk of side [...]
At the AUA 2021 meeting late last year, Dr. Curtis Nickel presented the latest research for a novel sublingual vaccine for the prevention of urinary tract infections in women. Uromune (MV140) is a simple, sublingual vaccine that could ease the suffering of millions of women. It is currently in the phase 3 development “pre-licensing” trials in [...]
We finally have explanation as to why the LiRIS drug delivery device was “deprioritized.” In September, the data for the final studies was released and showed that it was not successful in reducing IC symptoms, pain and, ideally, the quantity of lesions. LiRIS History LiRIS was a medical device developed by Taris Biomedical (now Johnson [...]
Dr. Robert Evans of Wake Forest University contacted the ICN this weekend to ask if we could let people know about a groundbreaking new study that seeks to grow new bladder tissue using cutting edge bioengineering techniques. Yes, that means that they are growing new bladder tissue from a patients own cells. This is a [...]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 1, 2021 (Santa Rosa, CA) Since the onset of the pandemic, some COVID-19 patients have developed severe “de novo” (new) genitourinary symptoms, including urinary frequency greater than 13 voids per day, as well as the need to urinate 5 or more times per night to relieve discomfort in their bladder.(1,2) Cytokine [...]
