Interstitial Cystitis Advice

Story originally posted on November 22, 2005



A recent study that was carried out in Taiwan provided researchers with some very mixed results when it comes to the use of Botox in the fight against Interstitial Cystitis. In recent years Botox has come in play as a treatment for several serious medical conditions (such as cerebral palsy) including IC. However reports have been varied when it comes to what sorts of positive results are actually achieved with this product in the treatment of IC.

Using a small group of patients (8 women and 2 men) who had not responded to other more traditional forms of IC treatment, urologists split the group into two and tried different dosages with each group. The first five patients were given 100 units of botulinum (better known as Botox) that was injected into the trigone region of their bladders, the other five patients had an additional 100 units injected into twenty various sites in their bladders.

Three months later only two patients reported any improvement in pain, and seven people were having more difficulty with urination. On the plus side the average bladder capacity amongst the patients increased by nearly three ounces, and patients were voiding an average of six times less per day. It appears that in this study injections into the trigone (the lower portion of the bladder which resembles a triangle) did not result in any more improvement being noted than in those patients who did not receive trigone injections.

While it is interesting to see that some improvements were noted, primarily the increase in bladder capacity, the researchers felt that the study results were disappointing as no one involved in the study reported that their IC symptoms had disappeared. It's clear that further, larger studies will need to be carried out by researchers around the world to determine if Botox really is a valuable and affective tool when it comes to treating Interstitial Cystitis.

Information resources:
Kuo HC. Preliminary results of suburothelial injection of botulinum A toxin in the treatment of chronic interstitial cystitis. Urol Int. 2005;75(2):170-4.