Interstitial Cystitis Advice

Story originally posted on September 3, 2005

Undoubtedly one of the most controversial issues when it comes to pain management is the use of medical cannabis. Though illegal to posses, grow or sell in almost all areas of the world marijuana has a continual following of pain based illness suffers who find that they are able to receive some semblance of relief from taking (smoking) this drug. While some are able to get it through an official doctor’s prescription (primarily in some areas of Canada, America and the Netherlands), sadly many more seek out illegal means by which to get a hold of the only drug that gives them respite. The topic of IC and marijuana is no less controversial a patients (especially those who have not responded well to other therapies) routinely wonder, “well, would it help?”

Yet a glimmer of hope may be on the horizon, as a recent news release shows the remarkable findings of a new synthetic analog (Ajulemic acid) of a metabolite of TCH, which is present in a new experimental drug called IP 751. THC is the primary component in marijuana that makes it a drug (without high levels of THC you simply have hemp), and the factor that makes it (cannabis) a pain reliever.

The powerful new drug has been shown to suppress bladder over-activity and pain in “hypersensitive” bladder conditions such as interstitial cystitis. So show the results of an animal (rat) model study. These findings were presented at the end of August (2005) at the annual meeting of the International Continence Society.

This research, which was sponsored by Indevus Pharmaceuticals, Inc, was carried out at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where scientists injected rats (some with acute bladder inflammation and some with sub-acute bladder inflammation) with IP 751. In both cases the animals had significantly suppressed bladder (over) activity, yet their bladder contractility remained unscathed.

This occurs because IP 751, a powerful analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug, stops the underlying cause of bladder irritation, the over-activity, and therefore is able to greatly reduce or eliminate any associated bladder pain. Yet despite this remarkable finding, researchers are not yet aware of how the mechanisms behind it actually work.

At this time IP 751 is currently be developed in order to treat several severe diseases/conditions including IC, with further potentiality in the area of pain and inflammation treatment. As of this news announcement no reports of human studies involving IC and IP 751 have been released, and undoubtedly human studies will need to be carried out before IP 751 is put forth to the general (IC) population as a prescription drug.

Not only would these findings help ICers (if the same affects occur in human models), but they may have far reaching benefits into many other conditions for which patients turn to both prescription and illegal usage of marijuana. This would give patients a legal means by which to benefit from the pain relieving properties of THC through Ajulemic acid via IP 751. For now we can only hope that humans will respond as positively as the animal in these studies did, and that this may in fact come to be a groundbreaking means of eliminating or greatly reducing IC pain.

Information resources:
Marijuana-derived drug surpresses bladder overactivity and irritation in animal models