Autoantibodies and interstitial cystitis.

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the bladder characterized by symptoms of urgency, frequency, and pain. The etiology of IC is unknown but autoimmune mechanisms may play a causal or excerbating role since we have found that up to 50% of the IC patient population have autoantibodies, some of which are novel and others of which are shared by other diseases. We are currently investigating the role of autoantibody testing in relationship to diagnosis, prognosis and therapy of IC.