Arbor Research studies the symptoms of lower urinary tract dysfunction (LUTD) under a consortium arrangement named the Symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction Research Network (LURN). This cooperative study is conducted in conjunction with scientists from the National Institutes of Health and clinical collaborators across the country.

The LURN project focuses on patient-reported symptoms and outcomes of treatment. LUTD is common, and its incidence and prevalence are increasing as the population ages. Symptoms of LUTD are costly to diagnose and treat; existing therapeutic interventions are neither highly effective nor durable and have side effects of their own. Existing measurement tools for the assessment of symptoms of LUTD — despite being widely used — do not capture all of the symptoms that are reported by patients. Not surprisingly, unsatisfactory outcomes from the patient perspective are inevitable. Each of these issues reflects an incomplete understanding of the etiology and natural history of LUTD, suggesting that comprehensive re-evaluation of the symptom universe of LUTD and deep phenotypic characterization of patients with symptoms of LUTD may provide significant new insights in this area, leading ultimately to improved patient lives.

As the LURN DCC, Arbor Research has major responsibilities for the development of the scientific agenda, study design, execution and monitoring of the study, data and biosample acquisition, statistical analysis, and presentation and publication of results.