Botox Helps Ease Symptoms of Enlarged Prostate

2004-05-11

SAN FRANCISCO, May 11, 2004 - Injections of botulinum toxin A (botox)
into the prostate are a promising alternative treatment for the
millions of men who have benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a
condition commonly referred to as enlarged prostate, according to a
study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and
Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. Results will be presented today
at the annual meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA) in
San Francisco and published in abstract 1524 in the AUA proceedings.

"For most men, enlarged prostate is considered to be an uncomfortable
inevitability of aging," said Michael Chancellor, M.D., professor of
urology and gynecology at the University of Pittsburgh School of
Medicine. "Common treatments can have serious side effects, including
impotence. We have completed a number of studies that have shown botox
injections are a safe and effective treatment for conditions of the
lower urinary tract; in this study, we have shown the same may be true
for using botox injections for enlarged prostate."

Eleven patients, ranging in age from 50 to 82 years, who had
symptomatic BPH that did not respond to alpha-blocker treatment,
received injections of botox into their prostate. Three to seven days
post-injection the patients showed a decrease in irritative symptoms as
indicated by a reduction in the international prostate symptom score by
62.3 percent and improvement in the quality of life index by 56.5
percent. Patients also experienced a significant increase in flow rate,
and a small decrease in residual urine and prostate size.

Patients did not experience any significant side effects including
stress urinary incontinence, retrograde ejaculation or erectile
dysfunction.

BPH is one of the most common diseases affecting men. More than half of
all men over the age of 60, and 80 percent by age 80, will have
enlarged prostates. Forty to 50 percent will develop symptoms of BPH,
which include more frequent urination, urinary tract infections, the
inability to completely empty the bladder, and, in severe cases, the
eventual damage of the bladder and kidneys

                                  Terrmac