What is it about?
Painful bladder syndrome (PBS), also known as interstitial cystitis, is one of most painful and debilitating diseases that mostly afflict 40 60-year-old women. We must find newer and cost effective physiological therapies that will have minimal side effects if any, to combat this disease. It is serendipitous that we found women’s urinary bladder contain functional receptors for human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a hallmark hormone of pregnancy. This finding coupled with the observations that PBS goes into remission when hCG levels are elevated either due to pregnancy or due to exogenous administration for other therapeutic reasons, makes a compelling case for evaluating the therapeutic effectiveness of hCG.
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Why is it important?
Although there are many therapies, U.S. Food Drug Administration has approved only pentosan polysulfate sodium, sold under the brand name of Elmiron, for an oral use. It provides a symptomatic relief after several months of use. However, it has side effects due to its weak blood thinning properties. It is important that we find other therapeutic alternatives.
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This page is a summary of: Therapeutic Potential of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Against Painful Bladder Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis, Reproductive Sciences, September 2016, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1933719116639139.
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