The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 05, 2000
Filed:
Jul. 02, 1998
Susan K Keay, Ellicott City, MD (US);
John W Warren, Baltimore, MD (US);
Michael K Hise, Columbia, MD (US);
University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD (US);
Abstract
Interstitial cystitis (IC) is a chronic bladder disease for which the exact etiology is unknown and for which there is no reliably effective treatment. However, it is known that the bladder epithelium is often abnormal in IC. We discovered that normal, adult, human bladder epithelial cells are inhibited from proliferating by an anti-proliferative fact (APF) present in IC urine specimens. Inhibited proliferation may cause epthelial abnormalities characteristic of IC such as ulcerations and multiple tears in the bladder epithelium. We further discovered that levels of heparin binding--epidermal growth factor-like growth fact (HB-EGF), a factor known be important for epithelial cell proliferation and wound healing in other tissues, are abnormally low in the urine of patients suffering from IC as compared to asymptomatic controls or patients with acute bacterial cystitis. The invention herein is directed to the use of urine levels of HB-EGF as a diagnostic marker for IC.