News & Blog

ICA staff recently attended the 14th National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Network Steering Committee Meeting held on June 16-17 in Baltimore, Maryland. MAPP was launched to help better understand the underlying causes of the two most prominent chronic urological pain syndromes – interstitial cystitis (IC) and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). As one of only two patient advocacy organizations participating in the MAPP Steering Committee meetings, ICA encouraged the investigators to focus their continued research in areas that will translate into direct benefits for IC patients. During the meeting, the different working groups debated and established protocols and requirements for acquiring new study participants for the next five years of phase two of MAPP (MAPP II). They also thanked the patients and study participants of MAPP I for their dedication and extremely high retention rate of over 80% – almost unheard of among scientific studies. In addition, ICA is excited by the announcement of the expansion of MAPP to three new discovery sites – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Queens University, Canada. Because of the discoveries made by so many diligent investigators both in MAPP and other research programs, there is hope for discovery of better treatments and an eventual cure for IC in the future.