FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE BLOG
Includes over 800 monographs reporting on emerging studies in the medical and scientific literature of practical clinical importance, easily searched for content.
Overactive bladder: urine is not sterile
Overactive bladder, and the often more painful condition interstitial cystitis (IC) and painful bladder syndrome (PBS) occur in the absence of infection and should be investigated for an autoimmune basis...A fascinating paper just published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology demolishes the dogma that urine is sterile by using advanced methods to prove that the urinary bladder has its own microbiome.
Interstitial cystitis, an autoimmune condition
Interstitial cystitis, also known as Painful Bladder Syndrome (IC/PBS), can feel just like a bladder infection with urinary frequency and discomfort or pain. The symptoms can range from mild to intense. I find this to be a fairly common, undiagnosed condition that is often not recognized as an autoimmune disorder. A study recently published in PLOS One (Public Libary of Science) presents an autoimmune mechanism for interstitial cystitis and reminds clinicians to be alert to the diagnosis.
Progesterone and irritable bowel syndrome, headaches and irritable bladder
Progesterone plays a role in preventing or ameliorating irritable bowel syndrome by inhibiting the release of histamine. This applies to numerous conditions including migraine, interstitial cystitis (painful/irritable bladder), dysmenorrhea and others.