Interstitial Cystitis is a bladder disease characterized by pain in the lower abdomen and frequent urges to urinate, day and night. These pains and urges to urinate are often very intense, sometimes unbearable, to the point that interstitial cystitis can be a real social handicap, preventing people from leaving their homes. Pains can also affect the urethra (the canal that leads urine from the bladder outwards) and, in women, the vagina. Interstitial cystitis mainly affects women. It can be declared at any age from 18 years old.
Symptoms and diagnosis of Interstitial Cystitis
Symptoms of Chronic Bladder Pain Syndrome are initially similar to those of acute bladder infection: bladder and urinary tract pain, urinary frequency, and uncontrolled release of urine. Accordingly, the chronic variant of cystitis can often be identified as such only after several years. A more accurate diagnosis succeeds according to the current state of research usually by excluding disease patterns with comparable symptoms. These include, among other things, calculi, bacterial infections or bladder tumors.
Treatment of interstitial cystitis
Due to the unclear causes, there are various methods for treating interstitial cystitis tailored to the individual patient. In addition to various drug treatments including analgesics, antidepressants, and immuno-suppressants, surgical interventions such as urinary diversion can be used. Physical therapies are recommended that include strengthening the pelvic floor muscles to control urinary frequency. In this post, we are going to focus on PRP treatment for interstitial cystitis.
What is PRP
Treatment with PRP involves injecting its own platelet-enriched serum as a filler, re-generator, and bio-stimulant. It is a natural method, 100% biocompatible, allowing cell regeneration and skin rejuvenation. PRP is obtained by a blood test.
People who, in principle or following reactions, refuse all foreign products, particularly appreciate the PRP. Plasma Rich in Autologous draws its power of regeneration in your own vital resources: your cells and growth factors. PRP allows skin cells to repair themselves and regain freshness and tone. Its effectiveness as a biostimulant makes it a unique natural cell booster.
PRP treatment for Interstitial Cystitis
Platelet-rich plasma is a unique medical procedure often used for the healing of wounds and soft tissues. In the procedure, the patient’s blood is removed and centrifuged to isolate a part of the patient’s blood that is very rich in platelets. That extra
ct is then injected back into the wound tissue.
In a recent preliminary study, researchers wanted to find out if the Platelet Rich Blood Plasma (PRP) is a unique medical technique commonly used in healing processes of soft, sore tissue. In this technique, the patient’s own blood is collected and then centrifuged to isolate and enrich for platelets. The isolate is subsequently injected into the injured tissue. In this preparatory study, scientists wanted to find out to what extent this therapy also represents an application in the treatment of Interstitial Cystitis or hemorrhagic cystitis.
For this, they used the rabbit as a model organism. Interstitial Cystitis was induced in the rabbits and half of them treated with PRP, while the other half did not receive treatment with PRP and thus served as a control group. They found out that the rabbits which were treated with PRP had an increased cell proliferation compared to the control group. This was measured by the mitotic index.
They also found that the treated group has reduced bleeding. These results are promising and show that treatment with PRP could be a potential, alternative option for the treatment of interstitial cystitis.
