For Immediate Release
September 21, 2007

We have groundbreaking and very exciting news for people with interstitial cystitis and in particular, those who also suffer from the many related conditions that have been connected to IC. On September 19, 2007, the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), along with several other National Institutes of Health (NIH) institutes, announced that it will be committing up to a total of $7.5 million dollars per year starting in the summer of 2008 for a five-year project to study IC and related conditions!

This is so important for people with IC as well as those with related conditions. You shared your concerns regarding the lack of research in this area, and the ICA listened and took action! The ICA spearheaded this initiative by working with Congress for many years and directly with the NIH to advocate for a government research program that would fund a multi-year, full-scale project in this untapped multidisciplinary area.

This program is named the Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network, and is designed to advance the understanding of urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes associated with the bladder (i.e., interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome, IC/PBS) and the prostate gland (i.e., chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome, CP/CPPS).

The MAPP Research Network will conduct multidisciplinary, collaborative, multi-site, basic, translational, and clinical research in this relatively uncharted area. An important focus of the MAPP Network will be investigation of the biologic and behavioral relationships between IC/PBS and CP/CPPS and other frequently related symptom-based conditions.

The MAPP Research Network will conduct multidisciplinary, collaborative, multi-site, basic, translational, and clinical research in this relatively uncharted area. An important focus of the MAPP Network will be investigation of the biologic and behavioral relationships between IC/PBS and CP/CPPS and other frequently related symptom-based conditions.

Related chronic pain syndromes of primary interest of the MAPP project are:

• fibromyalgia
• irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
• chronic fatigue syndrome

Vulvodynia and migraine headache may also be studied if adequate scientific justification is provided. The ultimate aim is to provide findings useful for development of future prevention or treatment strategies. It is anticipated that these studies will also increase the understanding of the pathophysiology, biologic and behavioral risk factors, natural history, and genetics of IC/PBS and CP/CPPS.

To view the official NIH Request for Applications (RFA), please click here.

In addition to the NIDDK, other NIH organizations participating in MAPP include:

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
http://www.nichd.nih.gov

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
http://www.ninds.nih.gov

Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)
http://orwh.od.nih.gov

Our thanks to the NIH, and specifically to the NIDDK with whom we have worked so closely, for helping to make this vision a reality for so many!