Urology
Our Team
Our Researchers
Edward M. Schwarz , Ph.D.
Research Overview
Currently, Dr. Edward Schwarz is running a number of studies to investigate three urological conditions: interstitial cystitis (IC); benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), the medical term for an enlarged but non-cancerous prostate), bladder cancer and prostate cancer metastasis to bone..
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IC is a painful disease or syndrome that affects mostly women and results in urinary frequency, urgency and pain. Its cause is still unknown, but Strong Health doctors and researchers are among the nation's leaders in studying it. The leading theory is that IC is caused by a defect in the bladder barrier. Normally, this barrier makes the bladder impenetrable so that the toxins and irritants in urine can't cross into the bladder and irritate the nerves in the bladder wall. A defect in this barrier could make the bladder wall permeable, so those irritants could enter the bladder wall and harm it.
Dr. Schwarz's lab creates genetically engineered mice that have this bladder permeability. They have also developed special computer automated mouse cages that allow them to study the urination patterns of the mice to see if they have the symptoms of IC. Then they can work to understand the specific causes of IC, that is, the specific nerve hormones that send pain signals to the brain. This knowledge can be used to develop very specific drug therapies that deal only with the symptoms and causes of IC, and do not act like "generic" pain killers than can have undesirable side effects.
The symptoms of BPH include urinary difficulty, feeling that the bladder has not emptied completely after urination, dribbling during and after urinating, and a weak urine stream. It appears to be caused by a non-cancerous growth in the prostate that obstructs the urethra. To investigate this theory, Dr. Schwarz's lab is genetically engineering these obstructions in male mice so they have similar urinary patterns as BPH patients. Again, studying the disease in animals helps us understand how it works in people - and how to develop ways to treat and prevent it.
Similarly, the bladder cancer studies involve mice that have been given the disease. Unlike IC or BPH, cancer has a large array of potential drug treatments. Using animal models is the most practical way to learn which will be the most effective. Sometimes combinations of drugs (a drug "cocktail") proves to be the best therapy, and these studies can help determine that.
Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common malignancy in men. While the modern treatments of the primary tumor are very effective, PC cells have a great tendency to migrate (metastasize) to bone. Once cancer metastasizes to bone, it is by definition incurable. Furthermore, the pain and chronic morbidity associated with metastasis is the primary cause of death in most cancer patients. Thus, understanding the mechanisms that lead to bone metastasis and developing interventions to prevent this catastrophic event are of paramount importance. Dr. Schwarz’s laboratory utilized mouse models of human PC cell metastasis to bone to elucidate the role of bone cells (osteoclasts and osteoblasts) in this process, and learn how these cells communicate with PC cells.
Faculty Title
Associate Professor of Orthopaedics, Urology, Pathology, Biomedical Engineering, Medicine and of Microbiology & Immunology
Education
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Ph.D. 1993
Contact Information
University of Rochester
School of Medicine and Dentistry
601 Elmwood Ave , Box 665
Rochester , New York 14642
Medical Center 1-8533
Phone: (585) 275-3063
Fax: (585) 756-4721
Email: Edward_Schwarz@urmc.rochester.edu