Abstract

Ibtisam Jasim Sodani*

ABSTRACT

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) continues to be a significant healthcare problem world-wide. Recently published data suggest that clinical BPH, which is hallmarked by the occurrence of moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), occurs in about one quarter of men in their 50s, one third of men in their 60s, and about half of all men 80 years or older. Inflammation of the prostate may represent a mechanism for hyperplastic changes to occur in the prostate. There are a variety of growth factors and cytokines that may lead to a proinflammatory process within the prostate. In fact prostatic inflammation may represent an important factor in influencing prostatic growth and progression of symptoms. Prostatitis, a histological diagnosis, has evolved over the years to describe a clinical syndrome that was believed to be associated with prostatic inflammation. In addition, the altered endocrine status of aging men is likely to be of importance for development of the disease since testosterone and growth hormone (GH) levels decrease with age, whereas estrogen levels increase. Conflicting data exist on changes in prolactin hormone (PRL) levels with increasing age. As the number of men afflicted by these diseases will only continue to grow with the aging population, further understanding of the role of inflammation in BPH and hormone imbalance will expand our understanding of BPH pathogenesis, its histological and clinical progression.