Related Experiment Videos
Treatment of interstitial cystitis with intravesical heparin
C L Parsons1, T Housley, J D Schmidt
1Division of Urology, University of California, San Diego Medical Center.
Insights
Intravesical heparin effectively controls interstitial cystitis symptoms. Continued therapy sustained symptom remission in over half of patients for up to one year.
Area of Science:
- Urology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic condition causing bladder pain and urinary urgency.
- Current treatments for IC offer limited efficacy and significant side effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of self-administered intravesical heparin in managing IC symptoms.
- To determine if continuous intravesical heparin therapy can sustain remission in IC patients.
Main Methods:
- 48 patients with IC received intravesical heparin (10,000 units in 10 ml sterile water) three times weekly for 3 months.
- Patients achieving good clinical remission were offered therapy for up to an additional 9 months.
Main Results:
- After 3 months, 56% (27/48) of patients achieved good clinical remission.
- Of those continuing therapy, 20 out of 23 patients remained in remission after 6 months, and 15 out of 16 patients remained in remission after 12 months of total therapy.
Conclusions:
- Intravesical heparin demonstrates significant efficacy in controlling IC symptoms.
- Sustained symptom control and remission were observed in over half of the patients for up to one year with continuous therapy.
Objective:
To control the symptoms of interstitial cystitis with chronic self-administered intravesical heparin and determine whether the drug's continued use can sustain remission.
Patients And Methods:
A total of 48 patients were selected to undergo intravesical heparin therapy, 10,000 units in 10 ml sterile water, three times per week for 3 months. For patients who attained a good clinical remission, therapy was available for up to a further 9 months.
Results:
At 3 months 27 of 48 patients (56%) attained good clinical remissions. All were offered continuous therapy and 23 elected for an additional 3 months. Twenty of the 23 continued in remission. Sixteen of these patients elected to have a further 6 months of therapy (12 months total) and 15 of 16 remained in remission.
Conclusion:
In over half of the patients studied, intravesical heparin controls the symptoms of interstitial cystitis with continued improvement even after one year of therapy.