Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Pelvic Pain Twin Study

The Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Chronic Pelvic Pain (MAPP) Research Network was established to focus on a broader approach to the study of Interstitial Cystitis (IC)/Painful Bladder Syndrome (PBS) in men and women, and Chronic Prostatitis (CP)/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS) in men. These conditions are often grouped using the research definition Urologic Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (UCPPS) in many MAPP Network studies.
Participants with some form or symptoms of UCPPS were asked to join the MAPP Network’s Phase I Trans-MAPP Epidemiology and Phenotyping (EP) Study. Participants with no UCPPS symptoms as well as participants with specific conditions (Fibromyalgia (FM), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)) were recruited for the Trans-MAPP Control Study, as “Healthy Controls” and “Positive Controls,” respectively. These participants were reference groups for the Trans-MAPP EP Study.
The Pelvic Pain Twin Study was a small, pilot study conducted at one MAPP Network Discovery site during MAPP Phase I using a unique sample of female, community-based twins from the University of Washington Twin Registry. This effort represented a co-twin control study, with pairs that were discordant for IC/PBS and was designed to identify IC/PBS phenotypes, characterize pathological and physiological associations with IC/PBS, and describe the relationship between IC/PBS and related chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs). The study cohorts/targets included pairs of IC/PBS-discordant female twins and healthy-healthy twin pairs, and followed the clinical and biological characterization and biological specimen collection strategy outlined in the MAPP Phase I Trans-MAPP EP Study protocol.