The long-term goals of the proposal are to establish a clinical center for the study and treatment of chronic pelvic pain in both genders and to co-operate with and contribute with other investigators in establishing and conducting multi-center clinical trials. In specific, this proposal is concerned with becoming a clinical site for the ICCRN. Our particular aims are to: (1) assist the ICCRN to establish study designs for clinical trials, develop forms and clinical definitions, recruit subjects for ICCRN trials, and to analyze and publish data in a co-operative and interactive manner; (2) support and take part in the Urological Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndromes Collaborative Group (UCPPSCG) in a co-operative and interactive manner; (3) develop and conduct ancillary studies, which will provide further understanding of Interstitial Cystitis (IC); and (4) assist in developing clinically relevant definitions of the urologic chronic pelvic pain syndromes, based on the clinical findings from these and other related clinical studies. Subjects will be recruited from the practice of Dr. Richard Berger, Dr. Jane Miller, and Dr. Elizabeth Miller at the University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC); the outpatient clinics at Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHC), a large health maintenance organization; and University of Washington Primary Care Network (UWPN), which comprises twelve community-based clinics. The investigators see approximately 500 new patients with frequency and urgency per year at UWMC. GHC sees approximately 300 patients per year with newly diagnosed frequency and urgency. UWPN sees 20,000 new patients per year cataloged by diagnosis by the end of 2002. By combining the patient population of both Seattle medical centers and the UWPN clinics, we will be able to recruit a mix of previously treated and newly diagnosed patients into ICCRN clinical protocols. The PI has a multidisciplinary team currently performing clinical and laboratory studies in CPPS in men. Over the past four years, the PI has enrolled 590 subjects into IRB-approved studies CPPS. The team members are ideally suited to contribute to designing and carrying out future protocols concerning IC performed by the ICCRN. Our multidisciplinary focus and experience will allow us the flexibility to design and carry out ancillary studies that will fit with the overall plan of the ICCRN.
