Lorenzo Gómez, María Fernanda, Gómez Castro, Susana · Archivos espanoles de urologia · 2004
This review examined whether interstitial cystitis (a chronic bladder pain condition) shares common causes with autoimmune and inflammatory diseases like lupus, Sjögren's syndrome, and fibromyalgia. Researchers found that many patients with these conditions have similar symptoms and immune system abnormalities, and that some interstitial cystitis patients improve with anti-inflammatory medications. The study suggests these disorders may share underlying mechanisms, though the exact causes remain unknown.
This study is relevant to ME/CFS patients because it identifies chronic fatigue syndrome as potentially sharing pathophysiologic mechanisms with interstitial cystitis and other autoimmune/inflammatory conditions. The proposed common mechanisms (immune dysregulation, mononuclear infiltration, autoantibody production) may help explain why ME/CFS frequently co-occurs with other chronic inflammatory conditions and could guide future treatment research.
This review does not prove causation or establish that interstitial cystitis and ME/CFS share specific pathophysiologic pathways—it identifies possible associations and similarities based on existing literature. The study does not provide new primary data, control groups, or quantitative measurements of disease overlap. Correlation between diseases does not establish shared underlying mechanisms.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Lorenzo Gómez, María Fernanda & Gómez Castro, Susana (2004). [Physiopathologic relationship between interstitial cystitis and rheumatic, autoimmune, and chronic inflammatory diseases].. Archivos espanoles de urologia. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15119315/
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-lorenzo-gmez-2004-physiopathologic-relationship,
author = {Lorenzo Gómez, María Fernanda and Gómez Castro, Susana},
title = {[Physiopathologic relationship between interstitial cystitis and rheumatic, autoimmune, and chronic inflammatory diseases].},
journal = {Archivos espanoles de urologia},
year = {2004},
note = {PubMed: 15119315},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lorenzo-gmez-2004-physiopathologic-relationship},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-30. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/lorenzo-gmez-2004-physiopathologic-relationship
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