Research to Examine Bladder Condition Along With Fibromyalgia & ME/CFS
NEWSBRIEF: The federal government has given the University of Iowa a $4.8 million grant to study interstitial cystitis (IC), a painful and potentially debilitating bladder condition. IC is far more common in people with fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS) than it is in the general population.
Researcher say this grant will allow them to look at how IC interacts with other conditions, including FMS, ME/CFS and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). They're planning to look at systems of inflammatory regulation and hoping to establish subgroups.
The research grant is from the National Institutes of Health's Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network.
IC is underrecognized by the medical community and is frequently misdiagnosed as recurring bladder infection. The primary symptoms are painful urination, urinary urgency and frequency, and pain associated with sexual intercourse.
Related Content: Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome & Interstitial Cystitis
Thank you for posting this important news. As someone with IC, FMS, IBS and several other related conditions, I’m very much interested in the connections and correlations between these conditions (or if they are, as some have proposed, possibly all symptoms of one larger over-all condition – though I’m not banking on such a theory until far more evidence comes forth to support it).
I truly hope that the University of Iowa researchers will be able to do great things with that money, and that their findings will be able to improve the lives of so many people living with these challenging, painful conditions.
Great news, thanks for posting it Adrienne. I think the clues to understanding IC and its related conditions will lie at the overlapping boundaries between conditions.
It’s amazing to me to see just how many conditions are connected to each other – I blogged about this at The Collective Well.
Be well and let’s keep this research going by spreading the word and showing our support.
Alexandra
I just wanted to give a shout out as a male that suffers from IC as well as IBS and fibro. With my sleep problems as well, it really is surprising for me looking back that my doctor could not diagnose the problem. I suffered unnecessarily, as many have, without a diagnosis. IC was the first nagging symptom that began to pull me down. I had insomnia on and off for years but I started showing the fibro at 35 and was diagnosed at age 37. I am 39 now and have given up tomatoes, citrus, alcohol, caffeine, and try to lean on a high protein / fat diet and stay away from unnecessary carbs. I have been fairly good about this regimen for better than a year now. I am very glad to see this get some funding and will be very interested in any further details on when they anticipate publishing any results or experimental avenues they are pursuing.
Thanks for posting this. I have IC, FMS, IBS – and a doctor who does research into these connections. We have always believed that they are connected on the genetic level; as a scientist who has studied inflammatory processes in the past, I think it is very likely that a group of genes within the mechanisms that govern these processes must be involved in the development of these conditions – and that in some cases, they are all a manifestation of the same systemic disease.
I will be reposting this news on several online support groups for IC that I belong to. ICers, if you like, come to http://www.revolutionhealth.com/groups/interstitial-cystitis-heroes and join our discussions.
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