In July 2001, the ICA participated in the first-ever National Institutes of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Bladder Research Review Group Strategic Planning Meetings, setting priorities for bladder research over the next five years and ensuring that IC research remains a priority at the federal level.

The ICA secured funding from Congress to enable NIDDK to begin a studying a new treatment for IC, bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG).

The June, 2001 "Gold Journal" supplement to the prestigious medical journal, Urology, was devoted exclusively to IC and Dr. Ratner had the privilege of being a co-editor as well as a contributor. All Urology subscribers, including many of the U.S.’s most prestigious urological researchers and clinicians, now have direct access to the absolutely latest information on IC.

In July 2001, ten IC patients from around the country gathered in Washington DC for a Capitol Hill Walk, resulting in more than 40 visits with members of Congress to ensure continued support for IC research at the NIDDK.

The ICA sponsored Regional IC Forums held in New York, Maryland, and Florida, featuring top experts in IC research from throughout the U.S.

The Interstitial Cystitis Association was mentioned and endorsed in a nationally syndicated medical advice column. As so often happens when the ICA gets national publicity of any kind, our toll-free phone number, Web site, and mail box were inundated with inquiries from new patients.

All of the ICA’s Fact Sheets were revised and updated with new additions on the Potassium Sensitivity Test, Children and IC, and Medtronic’s InterStim® device. The ICA’s Treatment Guidelines were also updated. These provide critical new information for patients and physicians, and are available in print as well as on our Web site.

The ICA Web site received, and continues to receive, more than 850,000 hits each month.

Journal of World Urology and Alternative Therapies in Women’s Health each featured articles written by ICA staff.

The ICA continued to expand its international outreach, assisting in the development of IC groups in Mexico, Brazil, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Uruguay and Japan, and continuing to provide assistance to existing groups throughout Europe.