USE OF TRANSFER-FACTOR FOR THE TREATMENT OF RECURRENT NONBACTERIAL FEMALE CYSTITIS (NBRC) - A PRELIMINARY-REPORT

Results of conventional treatment of female non-bacterial recurrent cy stitis (NBRC) are discouraging. Most patients show an unexpected high incidence of vaginal candidiasis, while their cell mediated immunity t o Herpes simplex viruses (HSV) and Candida antigens seems impaired, an d it is known that the persistence of mucocutaneous chronic candidiasi s is mainly due to a selective defect of CMI to Candida antigens. Twen ty nine women suffering of NBRC, and in whom previous treatment with a ntibiotics and non-steroid antiinflammatory drugs was unsuccessful, un derwent oral transfer factor (TF) therapy. TF specific to Candida and/ or to HSV was administered bi-weekly for the first 2 weeks, and then o nce a week for the following 6 months. No side effects were observed d uring treatment. The total observation period of our cohort was 24379 days with 353 episodes of cystitis recorded and a cumulative relapse i ndex (RI) of 43. The observation period during and after treatment was 13920 days with 108 relapses and a cumulative RI of 23 (P<0.0001). It , thus, seems that specific TF may be capable of controlling NBRC and alleviate the symptoms.