How Common Is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the most common prostate problem for men older than age 50. In 2010, as many as 14 million men in the United States had lower urinary tract symptoms suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia.1 Although benign prostatic hyperplasia rarely causes symptoms before age 40, the occurrence and symptoms increase with age. Benign prostatic hyperplasia affects about 50 percent of men between the ages of 51 and 60 and up to 90 percent of men older than 80.2
How Is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Treated
Treatment options for benign prostatic hyperplasia may include
- lifestyle changes
- minimally invasive procedures
- surgery
A health care provider treats benign prostatic hyperplasia based on the severity of symptoms, how much the symptoms affect a mans daily life, and a mans preferences.
Men may not need treatment for a mildly enlarged prostate unless their symptoms are bothersome and affecting their quality of life. In these cases, instead of treatment, a urologist may recommend regular checkups. If benign prostatic hyperplasia symptoms become bothersome or present a health risk, a urologist most often recommends treatment.
Not Treating May Be An Option
If symptoms are mild then this may be the best option. You may be happy just to see how things go if the symptoms are not too bothersome and are not affecting your life very much. The situation can be reviewed every year or so, or sooner if there is a change in symptoms. Symptoms do not always become worse. They may even improve.
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Symptoms Of Prostate Cancer: What Are The Symptoms For Prostate Cancer
Usually, prostate cancer does not produce symptoms by itself until it is fairly advanced. Prostate cancer arises silently and usually passes through a curable stage into an incurable stage silently. Therefore, the only means of detecting it when it is curable is to actively look for it with screening. Symptoms could include urinary difficulties ; however, these symptoms are usually caused by benign enlargement of the prostate. However, these symptoms are usually caused by urinary obstruction from benign prostatic enlargement,scar tissue or from inflammation. Bone pain occurs in very advanced prostate cancer, but the aches and pains that most people experience are usually caused by arthritis.
Requirements For Normal Voiding
1.Average Bladder Capacity 350-550 cc.
In the elderly, the capacity may decrease to 250 300 cc. Approximately 150-250 cc may be stored before there is a sensation of bladder pressure. As the bladder fills beyond 150-250 mL the individual begins toilet seeking.
2. Anatomical integrity of the bladder, urethra and external sphincter.
The bladder and external sphincter actvity must be coordinated to store and release urine. The healthy bladder muscle is stable and does not contract until the person relaxes the external sphincter. Post void residual of 50 to 100 mL is generally accepted as normal in the elderly. The literature suggests that younger people empty their bladder every 4 to 5 hours and older people empty their bladder every 3 to 4 hours within a 24 hour period.
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If You Have Any Problems
If you have any discomfort when urinating, any pain in the area around the prostate or any indication of a problem, the recommendation is to visit a urologist who can examine you to determine the source of discomfort or the problem.
It is important to visit a urologist whenever you feel the smallest discomfort, as the problem could get worse with time.
This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.
If you want to read similar articles to What is the Normal Size of the Prostate, we recommend you visit our Family health category.
Affect Of Finasteride On Bother And Other Health
Bruskewitz R, Girman CJ, Fowler J, et al, for the PLESS Study Group.
Urology. 1999;54:670678 .
From the same PLESS database, PSA-stratified changes in bother and other health-related quality-of-life scores and in sexual function and satisfaction scores were analyzed. In the study population, the placebo-treated patients experienced a decrease in the bother score of about 1.2 points, while the finasteride-treated patients experienced a decrease of 3.0 points . When stratifying the populations again by PSA tertiles, however, it was evident that the patients in the lowest PSA tertile had a sustained placebo response of approximately 2 points throughout the study, while the patients in the middle and higher PSA tertiles deteriorated toward baseline over time and ended with a decrease from baseline of 0.8 and 0.6, respectively, at the end of the study.
Concerning the interference score , the mean improvement after 4 years was 2.5 points for finasteride and 1.2 for placebo . Again, when stratifying the population by PSA tertiles, it became evident that patients in the lowest PSA tertile had a sustained placebo response of approximately 1.8 points, while those in the middle and higher PSA tertiles deteriorated toward baseline and experienced a change from baseline of 1.1 and 0.8 points only.
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What Causes An Enlarged Prostate
We still dont really know all the things that cause the prostate to grow. But we do know about two risk factors that can increase your risk of having an enlarged prostate.
Age
Your risk of having an enlarged prostate increases as you get older. Many men aged 50 or over have an enlarged prostate, but they dont all get symptoms. And some men have symptoms that don’t bother them.
Hormone levels
The balance of hormones in your body changes as you get older. This may cause your prostate to grow.
Other factors
Some studies show that obese men and men who have diabetes may be more likely to develop an enlarged prostate. Regular exercise may help to reduce your risk of urinary symptoms. But we still need more studies into the causes of enlarged prostate to know for certain if, and how, we can prevent it.
There is also some research that suggests you may be more at risk of developing an enlarged prostate if your father or brother has one. Again, further studies are needed to confirm this.
What Causes Prostate Enlargement
The causes of prostate enlargement are not yet fully understood but are thought to be related to the male sex hormone which controls the growth of the prostate. The prostate is initially quite small, but as men age, testosterone feeds the prostate and it starts to get bigger. From birth to around the early teenage years, the prostate increases in size by around 8 times. It doubles again in size from around the early 20s through to 50 years of age, and then doubles again by around the age of 80. With such large increases in size, its easy to see why the prostate can begin to squeeze the urethra and make it difficult to urinate.
There may also be a genetic link to prostate enlargement, because the sons of men with an enlarged prostate are more likely to develop prostate disease.
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Tips For Relieving Bph Symptoms
Four simple steps can help relieve some of the symptoms of BPH:
For more on advances in the diagnosis and treatment of prostate diseases, read;the;Annual Report on Prostate Diseases;from Harvard Medical School.
Treating Enlarged Prostate With A Weight Of 105 Gram
QUESTION: I am 65 years old. I got my ultrasound yesterday. The weight of my prostate was 105 gram.
ANSWER
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Prostate Measurements And Questionnaire
All the participants were invited to receive prostate measurement by TRUS with a 6-MHz uniplanar scanning probe , which was performed by an investigator who had 6 years of ultrasound experience. Under TRUS guidance, prostate width was measured on an axial image, while prostate length and height were measured on a mid-sagittal image. The TPV was calculated with the prolate elliptical formula, /6×width×height×length.,,, The transition zone was measured similarly to the above description. Length was defined as the greatest longitudinal distance on the sagittal scan, and width and height as the largest transverse and antero-posterior distance on axial scan. The TZV was also calculated with the prolate elliptical formula.
Every participant was invited to perform a self-administered International Prostate Symptom Score questionnaire. Although a Chinese version of IPSS questionnaire was used, a urologist, who had 10 years working experience, explained the questionnaire to participants. The IPSS questionnaire was comprised of seven questions, which were stratified to determine the storage symptoms and voiding symptoms.
What Are Medications And Surgery Procedures That Treat Bph
There are several different ways to treat BPH, and the treatment may vary with the different factors. Alpha-blockers and PDE-5 inhibitors commonly treat the dynamic factors associated with BPH, whereas 5-alpha reductase inhibitors and surgical interventions treat the static factors, and anticholinergics and beta 3-adrenoceptor agonists treat the compensatory factors.
Men should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of each of these options. Although surgical intervention tends to produce the most significant impact on symptoms, it is associated with greater risk and is typically reserved for individuals who fail medical therapy, either by lack of adequate symptom improvement or side effects of the medication.
Medical treatment of BPH is usually reserved for men who have an elevated AUA-SI :
Surgery or office procedures may also be used to treat BPH, most commonly in men who have not responded satisfactorily to medicine or those who have more severe problems, such as a complete inability to urinate, kidney problems due to the BPH, recurrent urinary tract infections, recurrent bladder stones, or gross hematuria .
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How Is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia Diagnosed
Your doctor will look at your medical history and give you a complete physical examination.
Your doctor will perform a digital rectal examination by inserting a gloved, lubricated finger into your rectum to feel the prostate, estimate its size and detect any hard areas that could be cancer.
Several studies may be performed to help diagnose your condition:
- A survey to evaluate how severe your symptoms are.
- A flow study may be conducted to measure how slow the urinary stream is compared with normal urine flow.
- A study to detect how much urine is left in the bladder after you finish urinating.
- A cystoscopy to look into the bladder.
What Is The Normal Size Of The Prostate
The prostate is an organ located below the bladder and in front of the rectum which is only present in the male body, fulfilling a key role in the formation of seminal fluid. The prostate secretes an alkaline fluid, white in appearance, that makes up to 30% of the volume of semen.
Over the years this gland can slightly increase in size, resulting in a condition known as prostatitis or inflammation of the prostate. For this reason many men wonder what the normal size of the prostate is and at what point it is considered enlarged. Read this OneHowTo article if you want more information about the normal size of the prostate.
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How Does Bph Affect Your Bladder
Your prostate is nestled right beneath the bladder, with the urethra running through it. This means that when its enlarged, it can cause uncomfortable symptoms in the urinary tract.
When the prostate squeezes the urethra, it creates an obstruction that makes passing urine more difficult. Often, it keeps you from emptying your bladder. Incomplete emptying makes you more susceptible to UTIs , overflow incontinence, and frequent urination.
You might even have difficulty beginning a stream of urine or dribble more than usual after finishing. If you are experiencing incontinence and want to learn more about the different types, causes, and treatments, check out our guide Everything You Want to Know About Male Incontinence.
But what causes an enlarged prostate besides BPH?
Sometimes its due to prostatitis, but prostate cancer is a possibility. Just because your bladder symptoms are minimal, dont skip a visit to your doctor. A significantly enlarged prostate might cause only mild symptoms in some men.
Its best to have your doctor determine any other underlying causes for your enlarged prostate, such as cancer.
What Are The Symptoms Of Bph
Since the prostate gland surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body, it is easy to see that enlargement of the prostate can lead to blockage of the tube. You may develop:
- Slowness or dribbling of your urinary stream
- Hesitancy or difficulty starting to urinate
- Feeling of urgency or sudden need to urinate
- Need to get up at night to urinate
As symptoms progress, you may develop:
- Damage to your kidneys from back pressure caused by retaining large amounts of extra urine in the bladder
- Sudden blockage of the urinary tube, making urination impossible
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What Is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
Benign prostatic hyperplasiaalso called BPHis a condition in men in which the prostate gland is enlarged and not cancerous. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is also called benign prostatic hypertrophy or benign prostatic obstruction.
The prostate goes through two main growth periods as a man ages. The first occurs early in puberty, when the prostate doubles in size. The second phase of growth begins around age 25 and continues during most of a mans life. Benign prostatic hyperplasia often occurs with the second growth phase.
As the prostate enlarges, the gland presses against and pinches the urethra. The bladder wall becomes thicker. Eventually, the bladder may weaken and lose the ability to empty completely, leaving some urine in the bladder. The narrowing of the urethra and urinary retentionthe inability to empty the bladder completelycause many of the problems associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Questions You May Want To Consider Asking Your Doctor Include:
- What type of prostate problem do I have?
- Is more testing needed and what will it tell me?
- If I decide on watchful waiting, what changes in my symptoms should I look for and how often should I be tested?
- What type of treatment do you recommend for my prostate problem?
- For men like me, has this treatment worked?
- How soon would I need to start treatment and how long would it last?
- Do I need medicine and how long would I need to take it before seeing improvement in my symptoms?
- What are the side effects of the medicine?
- Are there other medicines that could interfere with this medication?
- If I need surgery, what are the benefits and risks?
- Would I have any side effects from surgery that could affect my quality of life?
- Are these side effects temporary or permanent?
- How long is recovery time after surgery?
- Will I be able to fully return to normal?
- How will this affect my sex life?
- How often should I visit the doctor to monitor my condition?
Related Resources
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Enlarged Prostate Treatments In The Pipeline
Researchers continue to investigate new therapies for enlarged prostates. “Another category of drugs is under development,” says Slawin. “We’ve come a long way in treating BPH. It’s no longer the life-threatening disease it once was. Now, in treatment, we’re working on quality of life issuesââ¬Â¦ reducing side effects of treatment.”
Also being studied is a procedure called water-induced thermotherapy , an experimental procedure that involves destroying excess prostate tissue utilizing heated water and an air-filled balloon, which protects normal prostate tissue. The procedure is performed with only local anesthesia. Results may not be fully apparent for three to four months. However, preliminary studies examining WIT have shown positive results, with a near doubling in urine flow. However, the American Urological Association has not thus far endorsed WIT as a viable treatment option for symptoms of BPH.
Southern Cross Medical Library
The purpose of the Southern Cross Medical Library is to provide information of a general nature to help you better understand certain medical conditions. Always seek specific medical advice for treatment appropriate to you. This information is not intended to relate specifically to insurance or healthcare services provided by Southern Cross. For more articles go to;the Medical Library index page.
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