Shining A Light On Interstitial Cystitis & Chronic Pelvic Pain
Fungi (Candida) May Contribute To Bladder Symptoms & Flares
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 1, 2016
(Santa Rosa, CA) When a patient experiences urinary frequency, urgency, pressure and pain, most care providers assume that a bacterial infection is present. Yet, as millions of interstitial cystitis patients can attest, urine cultures can be consistently negative despite chronic bladder symptoms. A new study by the MAPP Research Network, an NIH funded research effort dedicated to urologic chronic pelvic pain syndrome, has discovered yet another potential cause of IC flares – the presence of fungi in urine. Women with flares were 8 times more likely to have fungi (candida and saccharomyces) in their urine.
Jill Osborne MA, President of the Interstitial Cystitis Network, shared “What makes this study unique is that they did not identify significant changes in bacterial populations in our urine. Rather, they identified something we haven’t seen before in a study, the presence of fungi. For the patient who is struggling with a long term flare and unresponsive to therapy, this can point the patient and provider in a new diagnostic and therapeutic direction.”
Another MAPP Research Network study released this Spring also found no significant bacterial variations in the urine of IC patients and controls though bacteria in the gut was substantially different. Certain beneficial bacteria essential to the function of the gut were found to be deficient.
National IC expert Dr. Robert Evans (Wake Forest University, NC) points to the overuse of antibiotics as the likely cause. He said “Because their symptoms are so similar to a UTI, IC patients are often over-treated with antibiotics which can cause both candida overgrowth and the abnormal micro biome in the gut. The take-home message from these studies is that antibiotics should not be used unless a UTI is proven by urine culture. Using antibiotics for symptom flares is just a bad idea.”
The IC Awareness Month campaign encourages patients to be health activists in their community. They can distribute educational materials to physicians and clinics, design posters, start support groups, encourage their political representatives to issue proclamations, share their stories with local media outlets and donate to IC research centers.
Learn more about IC and the campaign by visiting our website, https://www.icawareness.org.\
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Reference:
Nickel JC, et al. Assessment of the Lower Urinary Tract Microbiota during Symptom Flare in Women with Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A MAPP Network Study. J Urol. 2016 Feb;195(2):356-62
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Additional media materials, backgrounders, expert interview opportunities, and IC fact sheets are also available.
Contact: Jill Osborne, President Interstitial Cystitis Network – PO Box 2159, Healdsburg CA 95448 (p) 707.538.9442 or 707.538.9446 (f) 707.538.9444 (e) jill@ic-network.com
Founded in 1995, the Interstitial Cystitis Network (https://www.ic-network.com) is a woman owned, “social advocacy” health education company dedicated to interstitial cystitis and other pelvic pain disorders. Using the internet, we create innovative solutions to the pressing problems facing patients diagnosed with urologic conditions, medical care providers who care for them and the research community seeking new treatments and cures. For the past 18 years, we have provided critical 24/7 support to patients in need, developed new educational materials, conducted vital research, provided webinars/lectures and created IC awareness campaigns, all at NO COST to the patients who visit our website.