Thursday, August 11, 2011

Is there a role for antidiuretics in prostate problems

Symptoms like urgency, poor urinary stream flow and frequency are common problems in elderly males. Since most elderly males also have benign prostatic hypertrophy -BPH- it is not surprising to find urologists using this correlation to conclude that enlargement of the prostate is the culprit. Not surprisingly many doctors prescribe drugs which act by relaxing the muscles in the neck of the bladder to increase urinary flow and avoid straining - drugs like tamsulosin hydrochloride. Others may do surgical procedures (TUR'S) to decrease the size of the prostate. As I have mentioned in earlier blogs the dangers of basing conclusions on correlative evidence, i.e. because 2 events occur together it is not proof of a cause and effect relationship, e.g. in the cholesterol and heart attacks correlation we find many individuals with elevated cholesterol who dont get heart attacks- likewise many with low blood cholesterol who do- a similar correlation or lack thereof with many elderly males with BPH who have no symptoms and conversely many with normal (not elarged ) prostates who do have symptoms of BPH.
I realize that one should not be their own physicians but I find that during the day I often only get frequency and urgency symptoms if I am under some stress- including activities like playing golf when I make bad shots. I also find that during the day I usually do not have problems passing urine but get these symptoms when I have to get up during the night. suggesting this symptom is not due to obstruction to urinary flow- unless the caliber of the urethra has a diurnal variation.
I wonder if the treatment of BPH symptoms should be medical and not surgical like we are now finding for heart attacks ?-see my earlier Blogs.
As a starter I would suggest that urologists might begin by studying the role of the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin to see if it plays a role in the cause and/or symptomatic treatment of BPH.

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