Interstitial Cystitis

IT WAS just 50 years ago that Nitze¹described "cystitis parenchymatosa" in the German literature. The attention of the American physician was not focused on this entity until 10 years later. At that time, Hunner,²unsatisfied with the "waste-basket" diagnosis of "neurotic bladder," aptly observed and presented the clinical and pathological features of interstitial cystitis much as we know them today. He described interstitial cystitis as a disease with a primary predilection for the female, as did others, and subsequent reports have cited its presence occasionally in the male. It begins insidiously in the third decade of life. By the fourth to the sixth decade the syndrome is at its height, adding wretchedness to the already nervous, uncertain, and depressed menopausal woman. Clinically, interstitial cystitis is characterized by the triad of clock-like frequency, both day and night, suprapubic pain, and, usually, a sparkling, clear urine. Its course is