Intranasal Oxytocin for the Treatment of Pain Associated With Interstitial Cystitis
Status:
Completed
Trial end date:
2015-09-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Anecdotal evidence suggests female patients with painful bladder disorder interstitial
cystitis (IC) can experience a significant attenuation of their systems while breastfeeding.
Since it has been shown that postpartum lactation is a time associated with decreased levels
of stress, and stress has been shown to exacerbate IC-related pain, the investigators have
developed an interest in the effects of the hormones involved in postpartum lactation on
stress and pain. Based on a series of pre-clinical experiments, the investigators believe the
hormone oxytoxin has both analgesic and anxiolytic properties which make it a potentially
useful agent for the treatment of stress-exacerbated chronic pain syndrome such as IC.
Therefore, the investigators propose a double-blinded, placebo-controlled crossover trial of
intranasal oxytocin vs. intranasal saline for bladder pain in a cohort of patients with IC
and some degree of continuous, daily pain.