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Stem Cell Therapy for Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome

  • Regenerative Medicine (A Atala, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a disease characterized by pelvic pain, usually with urinary frequency. These symptoms make patients suffer from a poor quality of life. However, there is still a lack of consensus on the pathophysiology and curable treatment of IC/BPS. We have reviewed several candidates for the pathophysiology of this disease and also treatments that have been used. Although several oral medications, bladder instillation therapies, fulguration for Hunner’s lesion, and hydrodistention have been tried as IC/BPS treatments, their outcomes have not been satisfactory. As the application of stem cell therapy is expanding into the urologic field, innovative strategies have been tested with animal models of IC/BPS and have shown promising therapeutic effects for reversing the symptoms of this disorder. Although several concerns about stem cell sources and their safety should be addressed before initiating human clinical trials, we introduce stem cell therapy as a valuable future treatment approach for IC/BPS.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partly supported by a grant from the Korean Health Technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (HI14C2321 and HI14C3365), to MSC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Urology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 88 Olympic-RO 43 GIL SONGPA-GU, Seoul, 05505, South Korea

    Aram Kim & Myung-Soo Choo

  2. Departments of Biomedical Science, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Dong-Myung Shin

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Correspondence to Myung-Soo Choo.

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Aram Kim, Dong-Myung Shin, and Myung-Soo Choo each had research support from the Korean Health Technology R&D Project. Terms of the arrangement were reviewed and approved by the University of Ulsan College of Medicine.

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Kim, A., Shin, DM. & Choo, MS. Stem Cell Therapy for Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome. Curr Urol Rep 17, 1 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11934-015-0563-1

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