Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS)

Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome – shortly called IC/BPS – is a chronic, long lasting condition that causes painful urinary symptoms which significantly affect the patients' quality of life. As IC/BPS progresses, the pain and the frequent voiding can severely impede work, sexual intercourse, social life and night-time resting. 

According to our present knowledge, there is no definitive cure for IC/BPS. On the other hand, patients can be symptom-free for years, and the normal quality of life can be preserved assuming they get the appropriate treatment. The maintenance therapy should include monitoring the patient's status for years, possibly lifelong.

Currently, even in the countries of most advanced healthcare, only 5-10% of the IC/BPS patients are diagnosed, although it is estimated that about 2.4% of the population are affected. Unfortunately, the later a patient is being diagnosed, the more severe the symptoms of IC/BPS are. 

Urosystem's mission is to provide an all-round solution for IC/BPS patients – from the diagnosis to the proper treatment of multiple levels.

According to the definition of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, the USA) Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS) is a chronic, or long-lasting, condition that causes painful urinary symptoms.¹ Its symptoms significantly affect the patient's quality of life.² As IC/BPS progresses, the pain and the frequent voiding (which may exceed more than 80 occasions per day) can severely impede work, sexual intercourse, social life and night-time resting. Other chronic conditions occur more frequently in IC/BPS patients than in the general population.³

According to our present knowledge, there is no permanent cure for IC/BPS.⁴ On the other hand, patients can get free from symptoms for years, and their standard quality of life can be preserved, assuming they get the appropriate treatment. Due to the increasing number of diagnosed cases and the length of therapy, IC/BPS shall demand a growing amount of resources from the healthcare systems in the near future.

References

• [1] https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/interstitial-cystitis-painful-bladder-syndrome/definition-facts
• [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5730899/
• [3] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20719340/
• [4] https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/interstitial-cystitis-painful-bladder-syndrome/treatment