Interstitial cystitis: symptoms, diagnosis, treatment
In the female world, the word "cystitis" is, alas, very well known. There is, however, a rarer pathology, called Interstitial Cystitis, which differs from the common cystitis, and is still relatively unknown in Italy, albeit equally annoying.
Interstitial cystitis is a rare and chronic disease, which mainly affects women (8 out of 10 patients of this condition are female). Unlike common cystitis, interstitial cystitis affects the interstitium of the bladder wall causing increasing inflammation which, if not recognized and treated properly, is transmitted from inside the bladder to the outside, involving the surrounding organs.
Similarly to cystitis, the most common symptom is urgency, and burning, on urination. Symptoms, if not treated promptly, can make the disease chronic. Moreover, being a rare disease, it is often difficult to reach a timely diagnosis. This is why it is important to recognize it in time and not to confuse it with chronic cystitis: unfortunately, the data indicate that patients suffering from this disease, which has an important impact on quality of life, often arrive at the diagnosis after almost 10 years of investigations.
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Awareness-raising initiatives - towards patients, institutions and health professionals - can do a lot to improve information, skills and access to care: in this sense, the World Day of Rare Diseases, of which cystitis interstitial is part, which in 2016 is celebrated on February 29.
"An important initiative" - says Loredana Nasta, president of AICI, the Italian Interstitial Cystitis Association - "born in 2008 and today it has become a global event, which includes several initiatives aimed at raising public awareness but also political decision-makers, medical class and pharmaceutical companies, to provide patients with early diagnosis and a better quality of life.
This is even more true for a rare "invisible" pathology, such as interstitial cystitis, in which patients experience their disorders, very often unfortunately classified as psychosomatic, with great confusion and a sense of loss, before receiving an appropriate diagnosis and treatment. more appropriate ".
Professor Mauro Cervigni, director of the Interstitial Cystitis Reference Center of Gemelli in Rome, adds: "Today scientific research has developed new treatments, in particular thanks to hyaluronic acid, which helps to restore the layer of" gags "or the inner lining of the bladder wall. This barrier, properly restored, prevents toxins contained in the urine from penetrating the interstitium of the bladder, to the great benefit of patients. The new treatments also help modulate the hyperactivity of inflammation, with a significant reduction in symptoms ".
By PortaleDellaSalute
