Current evidence also suggests the efficacy of  dimethyl sulfoxide and amitryptyline therapy .
Hydroxyzine , intravesical bacille Calmette-Guérin  , and  resiniferatoxin therapy  failed to demonstrate efficacy , but evidence was inconclusive owing to method ological limitations .
Pentosan polysulfate may be modestly beneficial for symptoms of PBS/IC .
There is insufficient evidence for other pharmacologic treatments .
BACKGROUND More than 180 different types of therapy have been used in the treatment and management of  painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis ( PBS/IC ) , yet evidence from clinical trials remains inconclusive .
This study aim ed to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacologic approaches to PBS/IC , to quantify the effect size from r and omized controlled trials , and to begin to inform a clinical consensus of treatment efficacy for PBS/IC .
A prospective study of interstitial cystitis: results of longitudinal followup of the interstitial cystitis data base cohort. The Interstitial Cystitis Data Base Study Group.
PURPOSE We present baseline characteristics and longitudinal profiles of symptoms in the Interstitial Cystitis Data Base study , a prospect i ve cohort study of patients with interstitial cystitis . MATERIAL S AND METHODS A total of 637 eligible patients were entered into the study and followed for symptoms of pain , urgency and urinary frequency . Median followup was 31 months . RESULTS More than 90 % of patients were white women with a median age of 43 years . Using the overall pain-urgency-frequency score 7 % of participants presented with mild , 44 % with moderate and 49 % with severe symptoms . Severe urgency in 41 % of cases and severe 24-hour frequency in 41 % were more common than severe pain in 29 % . Of the patients 51 % reported nighttime frequency of 2 or more voids . Median duration of interstitial cystitis symptoms was 8 years and 68 % of participants were previously diagnosed with the condition . The 36 % of patients who withdrew from study or were lost to followup were more likely to have had more severe symptoms at baseline . Patterns of change with time suggest initial symptom improvement due to regression to the mean , and an intervention effect associated with the increased followup and care of cohort participants . Although all symptoms fluctuated , there was no evidence of significant long-term change in overall disease severity . CONCLUSIONS Our observations support the clinical observation that interstitial cystitis is a chronic disease and no current treatments have a significant impact on symptoms with time . These results provide a foundation for the design and performance of future clinical trials in interstitial cystitis using these end points in a similar patient population
Current evidence also suggests the efficacy of  dimethyl sulfoxide and amitryptyline therapy .
Hydroxyzine , intravesical bacille Calmette-Guérin  , and  resiniferatoxin therapy  failed to demonstrate efficacy , but evidence was inconclusive owing to method ological limitations .
Pentosan polysulfate may be modestly beneficial for symptoms of PBS/IC .
There is insufficient evidence for other pharmacologic treatments .
BACKGROUND More than 180 different types of therapy have been used in the treatment and management of  painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis ( PBS/IC ) , yet evidence from clinical trials remains inconclusive .
This study aim ed to evaluate the efficacy of pharmacologic approaches to PBS/IC , to quantify the effect size from r and omized controlled trials , and to begin to inform a clinical consensus of treatment efficacy for PBS/IC .