A Novel Intravesical Dextrose Injection Improves Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms on Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome

Interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) is a painful recurrent condition characterized by the discomfort of the bladder, and current treatment options have limited effectiveness. Prolotherapy is a well-known treatment that involves the injection of non-biologic solutions to reduce pain and/or promote proliferation of soft tissue, and dextrose is the most common injectate. This study investigated the effects of dextrose prolotherapy in a rat model of IC/BPS and patients with IC/BPS. We used cyclophosphamide to induce IC/BPS in rats, and intravesical instillation of 10% dextrose solution was performed. After 1 week, we conducted a urodynamic test, bladder staining, and ECM-related gene expression analysis to examine the treatment's efficacy. We found that dextrose treatment could recover the instability of the bladder, reduce frequent urination, and improve the glycosaminoglycan layer regeneration and the bladder wall thickness along with a significant intense expression of CD44 receptors. Furthermore, we enrolled 29 IC/BPS patients with previous hyaluronic acid/Botox treatment for more than 6 months with remained unchanged condition. In this study, they received intravesical injections of 10% dextrose solution followed by assessments for up to 12 weeks. Patient characteristics and a 3-day voiding diary before treatment were recorded. Patient responses were examined using IC/BPS-related questionnaires. Moreover, expressions of growth factors and cytokines were analyzed. The results demonstrated that dextrose prolotherapy in patients with IC/BPS reduced the frequency of treatment over time, with the mean number of treatments being 3.03 +/- 1.52, and significantly reduced the incidence of nocturia and questionnaire scores associated with symptoms. Dextrose prolotherapy significantly enhanced EGF level and, in contrast, reduced the level of HGF, PIGF-1, and VEGF-D after several weeks following treatment. The cytokine analysis showed that the expressions of IL-12p70 and IL-10 were significantly up-regulated after dextrose prolotherapy in IC/BPS patients. The levels of most growth factors and cytokines in IC/BPS patients had no significant difference and showed a similar tendency as time progressed when compared to healthy controls. Overall, the alteration of growth factors and cytokines exhibited safe treatment and potential stimulation of tissue remodeling. In summary, our study demonstrated that dextrose prolotherapy is a promising treatment strategy for IC/BPS disease management.