This could lead to symptoms of urgency, frequency and pain. The researchers hypothesize that IC patients have lower levels of GP51, thereby a decreased ability to regulate bladder permeability. They also hypothesize that GP51 levels would increase and that the mucin lining would repair as clinical symptoms improved. The research team's immunohistochemical studies demonstrated decreased expression of surface GP51 in IC patients when compared to normal controls. Their study indicated that low GP51 levels appear to be unique to IC patients when compared to controls as well as other disease states such as UTIs.
Additional studies are currently underway.
Levels of GP51 will be evaluated when patients initially present for treatment, and then monitored as they progress through treatment. It is hoped that these studies will correlate relief of symptoms with an increase in GP51 levels. The Urinary Glycoprotein GP51 as a Clinical Marker for Interstitial Cystitis. ICA national patient meetings feature General Session presentations from top IC researchers and clinicians, as well as individual workshops on treatment and self-help topics of special interest to IC patients. The combined Ninth National Meeting and Scientific Symposium held in Arlington, Virginia in the fall of 1997 drew more than 600 patients and physicians and received enthusiastic reviews.