LUT symptoms, including discomfort and pain associated with storage and/or voiding, increase with age and are more prevalent in males than females. These sensations arise from bladder arises with cell bodies in ganglia at thoracolumbar and sacral spinal cord segments which traverse hypogastric and pelvic ganglia en route to and from the bladder. These sensory nerves respond to stretch/wall tension during filling and voiding and to chemical stimuli generated during inflammation and contribute to bladder hypersensitivity in bladder disease states. In the absence of bladder insult, prostatitis is a principal driver of bladder hypersensitivity. Consequences of prostatitis and mechanisms underlying development of bladder hypersensitivity will be presented.

Dr. Gebhart began his academic career at The University of Iowa in 1973, ultimately heading the Department of Pharmacology from 1996 until his relocation to the University of Pittsburgh in 2006 to be Director of the Center for Pain Research. Dr. Gebhart has been recognised for his study of mechanisms of visceral pain and hypersensitivity, receiving: MERIT Award (NIH), Kerr Award (American Pain Society), Purdue Pharma Prize for Pain Research, Patrick Wall Award (British Pain Society), and Tomson-ISI as a Highly Cited Researcher. He is a Past President of the American Pain Society and of the International Association for the Study of Pain.