Emerging drugs for the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common condition affecting over 50% of men as they reach their 5^th decade of life. This leads to a number of sequelae such as lower urinary tract symptoms, urinary retention and a decrease in quality of life. Currently, the available treatments for BPH are alpha blockers and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors. Clinical studies have demonstrated these medical options are effective in alleviating a patient’s symptoms, however there are a number of side effects. There is a paucity of information regarding long-term use of these medications. The purpose of this review is to identify potential and emerging medications for the treatment of BPH.

Areas covered: Articles used in this review were retrieved from Pubmed, Google and through searching the PharmaProjects database over the last 10 years, giving the reader an in-depth knowledge about the current pharmacological agents available and other potential treatments for BPH.

Expert opinion: The new paradigm of BPH treatment depends on addressing a patient’s specific constellation of symptoms. This allows to tailor therapy of increasing efficacy and reduce adverse events that our patients have by increasing dosage.

KEYWORDS:

• Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)
• Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS)
• Overactive Bladder (OAB)
• alpha blockers
• pde5 inhibitor
• bladder outlet obstruction

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.