Title : Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome - A rare disease?
Abstract:
Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/PBS) was once thought to be a rare disease as well as a psychosomatic disorder in women. As a result, the disease went undiagnosed for hundreds of years. IC/BPS is a condition of the bladder that can cause severe pain, urinary urgency and frequency of the bladder. However, laboratories report urine cultures as negative and there does not appear to be an infection. It wasn’t until 1987 that IC/BPS was considered a medical condition highlighted by the first NIH (National Institutes of Health) research conference on the subject. This recognition was triggered by the tremendous efforts on the part of a patient advocacy group, the Interstitial Cystitis Association (ICA), formed in 1984. Even today, female patients often consult multiple urologists before getting the proper diagnosis. Unfortunately, despite 35 years of research by an excellent cadre of researchers, we are no further along in categorizing the disease, or finding a uniformly effective treatment.
