Advances in intravesical therapy for bladder pain syndrome (BPS)/interstitial cystitis (IC)

Bladder pain syndrome (BPS)/interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic symptom complex that may cause bothersome storage symptoms and pain or discomfort of the bladder, adversely affecting a patient's quality of life. The etiology of IC/BPS remains unclear, and its cause may be multifactorial. Diagnosis of IC/BPS is based on clinical features, and the possibility of other conditions must be ruled out first. Although no definitive treatment is currently available for IC/BPS, various intravesical therapies are used for IC/BPS, including heparin, hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, pentosan polysulfate, dimethylsulfoxide, liposomes, and botulinum onabotulinumtoxinA (BoNT-A). This review summarizes the intravesical therapy for IC/BPS and discusses recent advances in the instillation of liposomal-mediated BoNT-A and other newly developed intravesical therapies.

Lower urinary tract symptoms. 2018 Jan [Epub]

En Meng, Yu-Chao Hsu, Yao-Chi Chuang

Department of Urology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan., Department of Urology, Linko Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan., Department of Urology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.