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 Dr. Parsons is Professor of Surgery/Urology at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1977.
He is an internationally recognized specialist in interstitial cystitis (IC), which is also known as Lower Urinary Dysfunctional Epithelium (LUDE).
Over the past 25 years, more than 6000 women and men who have IC/LUDE have come to Dr. Parsons' clinic at UCSD for care.
Dr. Parsons is a leader in medical research into the causes and treatment of IC/LUDE. He has received numerous federal and private grants for his research studies, and he has developed methods for detecting and treating IC/LUDE that are now in use around the world. He has published over 200 scientific articles and book chapters. In addition, he travels widely to train physicians and other health professionals in how to recognize and treat IC/LUDE.
Dr. Parsons is a member of numerous professional societies including the American Urological Association (AUA), the Western Section of the AUA, the American College of Surgeons, the California Medical Association, the American Medical Association, the San Diego Urological Society, and the San Diego County Medical Society.
Dr. Parsons received his M.D. degree from the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, in 1970. After completing his medical internship at Yale in 1971, he spent two years as a staff associate in the Laboratory of Microbiology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He then completed his urology residency training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1977. In 1979, he received his certification in urology from the American Board of Urology.
Dr. Parsons' IC Research at UCSD
Dr. Parsons and his research group at UCSD have made many discoveries about the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of IC.
One of Dr. Parsons' first findings in IC was that mucus regulates the leakiness (or permeability) of the bladder wall and that this mucus becomes defective in people who have IC.
Another important piece of the puzzle is that the urinary mineral potassium, which is very concentrated in urine, is responsible for causing the symptoms of urgency, frequency, and pain when the mucus is defective. Defective mucus allows the potassium to leak through the mucus into bladder wall, cause all of these symptoms, and injure tissue.
Recently, Dr. Parsons and his coworkers screened populations of women for the symptoms of IC and discovered that about 1 in 4 women may have IC. They also found that there is a strong genetic link in IC. For a person who has IC, there is at least a 40% chance that a first-degree relative (parent, child, brother, or sister) also has IC.
Dr. Parsons has also developed the first new test for IC in 70 years, the Potassium Sensitivity Test (PST). The PST has been reproduced and validated by many medical centers around the world. Dr. Parsons' studies also led to the discovery of the drug Elmiron (R) (pentosan polysulfate sodium). Elmiron essentially corrects the defect that causes the disease. In Dr. Parsons' experience with over 6000 IC patients, Elmiron helps the majority of IC patients.
In addition, Dr. Parsons has developed a new therapeutic solution that can be injected into the baldder several times a week to reduce and suppress symptoms. The solution, which contains an anesthetic, can give immediate relief of symptoms and is used as part of an overall IC treatment plan that includes Elmiron.
In total, Dr. Parsons has published over 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts reporting the results of these studies in IC. He continues to actively pursue research in the cause of IC as well as in the development of new therapies for it.
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