IC research has answered many questions, but not all
This is an exciting time to be involved with interstitial cystitis, fromthe clinical aspect of caring for patients, to the search for markers andbetter methods of diagnosis, to the basic research so critical in ultimatelyfinding etiologies and a cure. The articles in this month's Urology Times help to underscore these issues(see page 8). Tomohiro Ueda, MD, PhD, and colleagues have identified a cytokineinhibitor that seems to improve interstitial cystitis symptoms and increasebladder capacity, according to a preliminary trial in patients with non-ulcerativedisease. The potassium chloride test study of Tony Yen-Huang Chen, MD, wouldappear to limit the usefulness of this potentially painful examination asa diagnostic adjunct. The profile that Frederic Liandier, MD, did of 287IC patients serves to confirm that while we have many therapies for thisdisorder, nothing works for everyone and the treatment of IC is as muchart as it is science-perhaps more so.
