Quality of Life and Treatment Modalities in Patients with Interstitial Cystitis: The Patients' Perspective.

Background: Quality of life (QoL)-based outcomes are hardly incorporated into interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) guidelines, because studies are limited and outdated. Therefore, guidelines might not reflect the current clinical situation accurately. Secondly, guidelines suggest using a multimodal approach for BPS/IC management, but data on the patient-perceived efficacy of these therapies are limited.

Restoring the barrier of chronically damaged urothelium using chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan-replenishment therapy.

Purpose Of Review: This study aims to further understand the physiological mechanism of chondroitin sulfate treatment on the urinary bladder in cases of inflammation, by investigating the effect of chondroitin sulfate therapy on recovery of urothelial barrier in an in-vitro chronic injury model.

Recent Findings: With inflammatory bladder conditions, the urothelial barrier seems decreased. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) replacement therapy is supposed to help restore this barrier.

The Burden of Urinary Tract Infections on Quality of Life and Healthcare in Patients with Interstitial Cystitis.

Background: Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) patients are more susceptible to urinary tract infections (UTIs), likely worsening pre-existing symptoms. However, this receives limited attention in guidelines. This study aimed to explore the burden of UTIs on IC/BPS patients' quality of life and their healthcare.

Study protocol of a multicentre double-blind RCT, comparing a traditional RCT with an aggregated N-of-1 trial: GAG therapy Efficacy Trial Solution for Bladder pain syndrome/Interstitial cystitis (GETSBI study).

Introduction: Obtaining level 1 evidence on efficacy of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) therapy is difficult, due to low incidence of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) and heterogeneous symptoms experienced by patients with BPS/IC. Currently, because of a lack of high-grade evidence, the recommendation for applying GAG therapy in most guidelines is 'low grade'. An aggregated N-of-1 trial is a multicrossover design that yields similar level 1 evidence as a traditional randomised controlled trial (RCT), while requiring far less patients.