Interstitial Cystitis
Interstitial Cystitis is a chronic disease of the urinary bladder. The excessive urgency and frequency of urination can have devastating effects on patients’ social, employment and sexual relationships. The symptoms may include chronic pelvic pain, back pain, pain in the groin or thighs, which may flare up and go into remission for no specific reason. Women make up 90 percent of patients with interstitial cystitis, while men comprise the remaining 10 percent. Children can also suffer from IC. The disease usually affects people between 30 and 70 years of age. However, IC seems more prevalent among young and middle aged women.
As researchers try to identify the cause if IC, the disease has been linked to other conditions such as autoimmune diseases, allergies, and bacterial infections. New and experimental methodologies have been implemented to help identify the cause of this disease.
In our continuing dedication to excellence, Fairfax Medical Laboratories, Inc. is proud to be one of the few reference laboratories in the country that offers a “unique” bacteriology assay, to help researchers, physicians and patients learn more about IC.
The underlying principle of this assay takes into account that substances on the bacterial surface, and in the urine itself, may block bacterial metabolism. Thus, these organisms become difficult to grow. By removing these interfering substances, we are able to culture and identify the fastidious bacteria involved in IC.
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