Advancing Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS) Diagnosis: A Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Methodologies.

This study aimed to improve machine learning models for diagnosing interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) by comparing classical machine learning methods with newer AutoML approaches, utilizing biomarker data and patient-reported outcomes as features. We applied various machine learning techniques to biomarker data from the previous IP4IC and ICRS studies to predict the presence of IC/BPS, a disorder impacting the urinary bladder. Data were sourced from two nationwide, crowd-sourced collections of urine samples involving 2009 participants.

Evaluating symptom severity and urinary cytokine levels in interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome patients, with and without Hunner's lesions.

Purpose: Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a condition characterized in part by urinary urgency, frequency, and pain. There is a strong interest in gathering more data to compare and assess the differences in characteristics based on the presence of Hunner's lesions in patients with IC/BPS.

Materials And Methods: Using a nationwide crowdsource effort, we collected surveys and urine samples from patients with a history of IC/BPS.

Risk Classification for Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome Using Machine Learning Based Predictions.

Objective: To improve diagnosis of interstitial cystitis (IC)/bladder pain syndrome(IC) we hereby developed an improved IC risk classification using machine learning algorithms.

Methods: A national crowdsourcing resulted in 1264 urine samples consisting of 536 IC (513 female, 21 male, 2 unspecified), and 728 age-matched controls (318 female, 402 male, 8 unspecified) with corresponding patient-reported outcome (PRO) pain and symptom scores. In addition, 296 urine samples were collected at three academic centers: 78 IC (71 female, 7 male) and 218 controls (148 female, 68 male, 2 unspecified).

Identification of Molecular Mechanisms in Radiation Cystitis: Insights from RNA Sequencing.

Pelvic cancer survivors who were treated with radiation therapy are at risk for developing (hemorrhagic) radiation cystitis (RC) many years after completion of radiation therapy. Patients with RC suffer from lower urinary tract symptoms, including frequency, nocturia, pelvic pain, and incontinence. In advanced stages, hematuria can occur, potentially escalating to life-threatening levels.

Comparing online crowdsourcing with clinic patient enrollment: Findings from the IP4IC Study on interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.

Introduction: Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) manifests as urinary symptoms including urgency, frequency, and pain. The IP4IC Study aimed to establish a urine-based biomarker score for diagnosing IC/BPS. To accomplish this objective, we investigated the parallels and variances between patients enrolled via physician/hospital clinics and those recruited through online crowdsourcing.

A Cost, Time, and Demographic Analysis of Participant Recruitment and Urine Sample Collection Through Social Media Optimization.

Introduction: Clinical research can be expensive and time consuming due to high associated costs and/or duration of the study. We hypothesized that urine sample collection using online recruitment and engagement of research participants via social medial has the potential to reach a large population in a small timeframe, at a reasonable cost.

Methods: We performed a retrospective cost analysis of a cohort study comparing cost per sample and time per sample for both online and clinically recruited participants for urine sample collection.

Using social media to crowdsource collection of urine samples during a national pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown had a substantial impact on normal research operations. Researchers needed to adapt their methods to engage at-home participants. One method is crowdsourcing, in which researchers use social media to recruit participants, gather data, and collect samples.

Voiding defects in acute radiation cystitis driven by urothelial barrier defect through loss of E-cadherin, ZO-1 and Uroplakin III.

Long term-side effects from cancer therapies are a growing health care concern as life expectancy among cancer survivors increases. Damage to the bladder is common in patients treated with radiation therapy for pelvic cancers and can result in radiation (hemorrhagic) cystitis (RC). The disease progression of RC consists of an acute and chronic phase, separated by a symptom-free period.

Improved global response outcome after intradetrusor injection of adult muscle-derived cells for the treatment of underactive bladder.

We report on the first regulatory approved clinical trial of a prospective open-label physician-initiated study assessing the safety and efficacy of intradetrusor injected Autologous Muscle Derived Cells (AMDC) treatment for underactive bladder (UAB). 20 non-neurogenic UAB patients were treated. Approximately 50-250 mg of quadriceps femoris muscle was collected using a spirotome 8-gauge needle.

Proteomic analysis of bladder biopsies from interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome patients with and without Hunner's lesions reveals differences in expression of inflammatory and structural proteins.

Background: Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome is a bladder disease usually characterized by pain, urgency, and frequency. Interstitial cystitis is currently classified into two subtypes, with and without Hunner's lesions. However, the underlying etiology of interstitial cystitis and its subtypes are largely unknown.

Micturition defects and altered bladder function in the mutant mouse model of aging.

Introduction And Objectives: Symptoms associated with detrusor underactivity (DU) or underactive bladder (UAB) can severely impact a person's quality of life, and growing old is the main etiological factor of DU and UAB. The gene has been associated with suppression of several aging phenotypes, and there is moderate expression in the bladder. Given this, we hypothesized that the klotho gene is involved in regulation of bladder function.

Rapid detection of novel coronavirus/Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by reverse transcription-loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

Novel Corona virus/Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or 2019-nCoV), and the subsequent disease caused by the virus (coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19), is an emerging global health concern that requires a rapid diagnostic test. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) is currently the standard for SARS-CoV-2 detection; however, Reverse Transcription Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (RT-LAMP) may allow for faster and cheaper field based testing at point-of-risk. The objective of this study was to develop a rapid screening diagnostic test that could be completed in 30-45 minutes.

Underactive Bladder; Review of Progress and Impact From the International CURE-UAB Initiative.

There is a significant need for research and understanding of underactive bladder (UAB). The International Congress of Urologic Research and Education on Aging UnderActive Bladder (CURE-UAB) was organized by Doctors Michael Chancellor and Ananias Diokno in order to address these concerns. CURE-UAB was supported, in part, by the US National Institute of Aging and National Institute of Diabetes Digestive and Kidney.

Understanding low-income, minority older adult self-perceptions of HIV risk.

The number of people ages 50 or older living with HIV in the United States is increasing. Yet, few older adults see themselves at risk of infection. This study examines the heuristic reasoning that low income, minority adults, ages 50 or older use in calculating the likelihood of infection.

Looming threats to the intimate bond in hospice care? Economic and organizational pressures in the case study of a hospice.

Hospice organizations are assailed by stiff competition, ever-rising costs, limited funding, and policy changes. Do such pressures stifle the high quality of care these organizations strive to provide? As a case-in-point, we draw from the mid-1990s accounts of caregivers at a nonprofit hospice in a Midwestern city in the United States. We maintain that economic pressures drive organizational restructuring, which then weakens working conditions and, thereby, weakens the staff-client relationship.

Homophobia, hypermasculinity and the US black church.

Black churches in the USA constitute a significant source of the homophobia that pervades black communities. This theologically-driven homophobia is reinforced by the anti-homosexual rhetoric of black nationalism. Drawing on a variety of sources, this paper discusses the sources of homophobia within black communities, and its impact upon self-esteem, social relationships and physical health.

Perception of HIV/AIDS risk among urban, low-income senior-housing residents.

Despite the rising number of cases of HIV in adults over age 50, older persons rarely are considered to be at risk for HIV/AIDS, and even though they may be involved in risky behavior, such as unprotected penetrative sex, they may not consider themselves vulnerable to becoming infected. Informed awareness of risk is essential to making positive decisions about adopting preventive measures. We examined demographic, sociobehavioral, and contextual factors that predict urban, low-income older adults' perception of HIV/AIDS risk.