Strong Health’s urologists are among the nation’s leaders in studying, diagnosing and treating interstitial cystitis. Our IC specialists have national reputations resting on their research and their use of innovative diagnostic and treatment techniques. Because patient care is our first concern, we make sure no one ever waits long for an appointment with them; someone is always available to help.
As members of a major teaching hospital and research institution, our IC specialists do important basic research to help advance our knowledge of interstitial cystitis, its symptoms, causes and cures. Currently, we have grants from NIH and other foundations for research studies in several areas. Some look at models of the condition in animals, to help us try to understand the pain, urinary frequency and urinary urgency associated with it. Another is investigating a chemical overly produced in IC patients, to understand its connection to the condition and how it may lead us to new forms of treatment.
We also run major clinical trials that help develop and evaluate new treatment methods. We recently studied the effectiveness of several drugs designed to repair the lining of the bladder and investigated BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guerin), a treatment that seems to fight the condition by boosting the immune system.
We’re also the only medical facility in the area to offer the InterStim® device for sacral nerve stimulation, a new technology that has been extremely effective in treating incontinence. The InterStim® is essentially a pacemaker for the bladder. Like a pacemaker, it’s implanted under your skin, usually near the tailbone or in the abdomen, in a minor surgical procedure. Mild electrical pulses are sent along a wire that runs from the InterStim® to the nerves that control bladder function. These pulses stimulate the nerve, helping to control urination and prevent incontinence. The InterStim® is now being studied as a possible treatment for IC.
If you’re interested in joining an IC related clinical trial, call Suzanne Moyer at
(585)-275-0731 or Betty Smith at (585)-275-0989.