Neurogenic inflammation and chronic pelvic pain

Chronic pelvic pain is a puzzling disease entity. The pathophysiological me chanisms of chronic pelvic pain are not clear and current treatment strateg ies are often not successful, leaving patients as well as health care provi ders frustrated. In a subgroup of patients with chronic pelvic pain (e.g., interstitial cystitis, irritable bowel syndrome, vulvar vestibulitis, prost atodynia/prostatitis, and loin pain/hematuria syndrome) inflammatory change s are observed, for which no etiology has been identified. These inflammato ry changes might be due to neurogenic inflammation. Applying the concept of neurogenic inflammation to chronic pelvic pain provides new insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of these pain syndromes, makes it possibl e to account for the heterogeneity and variability observed in the clinical presentation, and might lead to the development of novel therapies.