Type of Submission
Poster
Keywords
Interstitial cystitis, estrogen, autoimmune conditions
Abstract
Interstitial cystitis (IC), or painful bladder syndrome, is an autoimmune condition with an unknown etiology. Common symptoms include urinary urgency, frequency, and bladder and urethral pain and burning. This condition, like many autoimmune disorders, disproportionately affects females; therefore, female sex hormones are hypothesized to play a role in the disorder. My hypothesis is that estrogen, both endogenous and synthetic, affects the severity of IC symptoms. Through surveying the available literature on interstitial cystitis, I have found that IC symptoms often correlate with low estrogen. My hope is that by understanding more about how hormones affect IC, we can come up with better treatment plans for IC sufferers.
Campus Venue
Stevens Student Center
Location
Cedarville, OH
Start Date
4-1-2015 11:00 AM
End Date
4-1-2015 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Interstitial Cystitis: The Estrogen Connection
Cedarville, OH
Interstitial cystitis (IC), or painful bladder syndrome, is an autoimmune condition with an unknown etiology. Common symptoms include urinary urgency, frequency, and bladder and urethral pain and burning. This condition, like many autoimmune disorders, disproportionately affects females; therefore, female sex hormones are hypothesized to play a role in the disorder. My hypothesis is that estrogen, both endogenous and synthetic, affects the severity of IC symptoms. Through surveying the available literature on interstitial cystitis, I have found that IC symptoms often correlate with low estrogen. My hope is that by understanding more about how hormones affect IC, we can come up with better treatment plans for IC sufferers.
