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Please be advised that the Prostatitis Foundation does not warrant, support, sponsor, endorse, recommend or accept responsibility for any health care information, health care provider or any treatment or protocol performed by any heath care provider. Information provided here is the viewpoint of the authors and not necessarily that of the Prostatitis Foundation.

The Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network has been established by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to focus on a broader approach to the study of Chronic Prostatitis (CP)/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS) in men and Interstitial Cystitis (IC)/Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS) in men and women, than previously undertaken.

Patients with CP or IC are now being recruited for a new research study called the “MAPP Network Epidemiology and Phenotyping Study”!! By taking part in these studies, participants may help doctors gain a better understanding of how CP and IC affect individuals’ overall health and aid them in developing better treatments.

Like many chronic pain disorders, CP and IC are poorly understood and treatments are often not helpful. Our goal in the MAPP Network is to better understand the underlying causes of CP or IC. Through this study we also hope to better understand how CP and IC relate to other chronic pain conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia (FM), and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).The MAPP Network studies are observational, which means we will ask questions and gather information about your health and life for research purposes, but we will not treat you or change any current treatments you may have for your condition. During this study, you will remain under the care of your usual physicians. The MAPP Network plans to enroll a total of 360 patients with some form of CP or IC at nine medical centers across the country, as well as a number of patients with IBS, FM, and CFS.

This is a 12 month study. After the first visit (Screening/Baseline visit), participants will be asked to come back to the clinical center twice during the next 12 months, as well as complete a brief biweekly (every other week) and bimonthly (every other month) computer questionnaires at home in between clinic visits. In addition to the clinic visits and online assessments, during the next 12 months participants will be asked to collect a maximum of 4 home urine samples to aid in our study of how symptoms change over time. Participants will also be given the option to enroll in additional network research studies that will provide new and important information for the main study.

To learn more about participating in the MAPP Network study at the below locations, check out the “Recruiting Sites” tab on the MAPP Research Network website at www.mappnetwork.org/

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois
Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California
University of California, Los Angles (UCLA), Los Angeles, California

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There's a lot to learn. You and I have a lot to learn, and medical science has a lot to learn about prostatitis. Many cases of chronic prostatitis are not easy to cure. When you have read everything about prostatitis on this site, you may still have questions. The current state of scientific and medical knowledge about prostatitis is not very good, as any honest doctor will admit. We provide several ways for you to discuss prostatitis with others.

This site is here to provide you with as much as possible of what is known. It is produced by volunteers and funded by your donations.

Please, to make the best possible use of this site, follow as many of the links as you are able. There are more than 250 web pages on this site, so they cannot all be linked from this home page. It will take you a while to read them all, but it will be worth your while. (See list) When you are done, you can form your own opinion about what you should do. We're not going to tell you what to think.

PROSTATITIS DIFFICULT TO DIAGNOSE AND TREAT

Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland, often resulting in swelling or pain. Prostatitis can result in four significant symptoms: pain, urination problems, sexual dysfunction, and general health problems, such as feeling tired and depressed.

The prostate is a reproductive gland located just below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It wraps around the urethra, a tube that carries urine from the bladder. The prostate produces most of a male’s semen.

To diagnose prostatitis, a physician will collect a patient’s urine and thoroughly exam his prostate gland. To check the prostate gland, a physician will carry out a digital rectal examination, which involves inserting a well lubricated gloved finger into the rectum to check for any abnormalities of the gland. The physician also may collect a sample of prostate fluid so that it can be analyzed.

Some physicians also may want to carry out a prostate specific antigen test to measure the amount of this chemical in a person’s blood. Both prostatitis and prostate cancer can increase a patient’s PSA level.

Estimates on the number of males in the United States who will experience prostatitis during their lifetimes range up to 50 percent. Many urologic disease experts feel that from 5 to 10 percent of males will be experiencing prostatitis at a particular time, making it one of the most common urologic diseases in the U.S.

Over the years, prostatitis has been subdivided into a number of categories, but today commonly accepted variations of the disease include nonbacterial, acute, and chronic.

By far, the most common type of prostatitis is nonbacterial prostatitis. Symptoms may include frequent urination and pain in the lower abdomen or lower back area. Causes may be stress and irregular sexual activity.

According to Dr. Leroy Nyberg, Jr., director of Urology Programs at the National Institutes of Health, treatments for nonbacterial prostatitis may include anti-inflammatory medications or muscle relaxants, taking hot baths, drinking extra fluids, learning to relax when urinating, and ejaculating frequently. “Some physicians also may recommend some changes in a patient’s diet,” Dr. Nyberg said.

Acute bacterial prostatitis can be the result of bacteria, a virus, or a sexually transmitted disease. Symptoms may include fever and chills, low back pain, frequent and painful urination, weak stream when urinating, and infrequent urination.

Dr. Nyberg explained that these infections often are treated with antibiotics, bed rest, stool softener, and increased fluid intake.

Chronic prostatitis may be bacterial or the result of an inflammation of the prostate. Symptoms may include frequent bladder infections, frequent urination, and persistent pain in the lower abdomen or back.

This form of prostatitis often is treated with medications (often antibiotics), changes in the diet, biofeedback, and nonprescription supplements, according to Dr. Nyberg.

The Prostatitis Foundation sends in unmarked envelopes a free information packet and a newsletter with recent information to all that send their mailing address. The information packet contains some background information about prostatitis and sometimes articles they cannot get copyright permission to put on the website. www.prostatitis.org

You may order a free information packet by calling 888-891-4200

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