Tuesday, July 19, 2016
Urologists to study bladder vs pelvic floor therapy in women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome
As the U.S. continues to ramp up support services to our military personnel and veterans, the department of Urology at Beaumont Health will have the honor to conduct important research on one of the least known health issues impacting thousands of service women and men stationed at home and abroad.
In late May, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded an exclusive $3.8 million research grant to Beaumont’s Urology team to study two therapies in women with a diagnosis of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome, or IC/BPS. This chronic condition produces debilitating pelvic pain, urinary urgency, and urinary frequency during the day and nighttime.
According to the Interstitial Cystitis Network, IC/BPS is found in many U.S. service members and veterans. A deployment health report with a surveillance period from 2000 to 2009 identified IC/BPS annual incidence rates for active duty populations of 80.4 and 4.3 per 100,000 patient-years among females and males respectively. A second study showed IC/BPS to be a common primary diagnoses of Veterans Health Administration users, with some experts believing its prevalence to be increasing among all military personnel.
Kenneth Peters, M.D., chief of Urology and medical director of Beaumont’s Women’s Urology Center is the study’s principal investigator. Drs. Larry Sirls, Michael Chancellor, and Laura Lamb, as well as Lt. Col. Christopher Smith, M.D., at Baylor College of Medicine, are investigators on the study, which will begin in September of this year.
The research study will compare two treatments in women with IC/BPS, one for bladder and the other for the pelvic floor.
“Since urinary urgency, frequency and pain are hallmark symptoms of IC/BPS, this difficult to treat disorder has long been thought to be a bladder problem,” explained Dr. Peters. “However, our clinical experience suggests that pelvic floor muscles are responsible for many symptoms that IC/BPS sufferers experience.
“Therefore, our study will compare the two therapies for changes in symptoms and urine and serum biomarkers before and after treatment with a hope to create a better diagnosis and treatment protocol to manage this difficult condition,” Dr. Peters added.
Beaumont Women's Urology Center
Beaumont offers a specialized Women’s Urology Center to address urologic, sexual function and pelvic pain conditions in women. Services of the center include: clinical evaluation, testing and treatment; minimally invasive procedures; specialized physical therapy; psychological support and clinical massage, guided imagery and other Integrative Medicine treatments. Beaumont, Royal Oak is recognized by U.S. News & World Report as a “high performing” hospital for urology.