UCPPS - Prostatitis, Interstitial Cystitis Forum

Back to the old chestnut of bacterial infection as a cause of UCPPS.

A new study has come out, from the US-based "MAPP Research Network", using next-generation molecular diagnostic Ibis T-5000 Universal Biosensor technology (state of the art technology for detecting bacterial DNA using PCR). This is much more sensitive and accurate than any culture and will find bacteria that cannot be cultured.

Search for Microorganisms in Men with Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome: A Culture-Independent Analysis in the MAPP Research Network

The results are fascinating.

Note: initial stream urine = VB1, midstream urine = VB2, post-prostate massage urine = VB3
Points to consider :

1. Controls (men without CPPS) have as many or more bacteria in their samples than CPPS patients!
2. The only major difference that could point to a bacterial problem for CPPS patients is the greater number of patients who have B. cenocepacia (14.5% vs 4.3% of controls).
3. The most likely reason for this preponderance is the extensive antibiotic treatment the patients have undergone versus the controls (my conclusion, not the paper's). By using long courses of antibiotics (a common treatment for UCPPS patients) to wipe out normal commensal (harmless) bacteria that reside in the lower urinary tract, resistant species (like B. Cenocepacia) are advantaged.
4. In any event, the small number of CPPS patients with B. cenocepacia and the fact that nearly 5% of controls also had B. cenocepacia would seem to relegate this bug to minor importance.
5. The VB3 results (post prostate massage) are particularly interesting. Note how CPPS patients have LESS bacterial DNA in their prostates than controls!

So this study is, in my opinion, one more nail in the coffin of the "active bacterial infection" theory of UCPPS causation.