Botox Could Treat Enlarged Prostate

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However, these reductions in prostate size did not seem to explain symptom improvement, they said. Rather, symptom relief was probably associated with a change in prostate gland muscle tone and sensory function following Botox injections.

"In fact, the effect of the Botox is similar to what the alpha-blockers [drugs] do and have done for many years," noted Scardino. "But, I can imagine this being useful as an alternate to a more invasive procedure for people who all of a sudden can't urinate and face an emergency situation."

"The question is how practical is it?" Scardino cautioned. "It's worth exploring, but this is extremely preliminary in terms of its clinical benefit. Much more research is needed."

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Chancellor agreed on the need for more research and said a new worldwide study is already under way to explore Botox's potential against BPH.

Dr. Robert E. Weiss is a urologic oncologist at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and an associate professor of urology at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J. He said that patients who have failed standard medical therapies have the most to gain from this alternative approach.

"We have a significant number of patients nowadays who begin medical therapy, and either it initially doesn't work, or, with time their symptoms get worse," he noted. "And the next step would be a more invasive treatment. So, this would probably be a little better option, because it's presumably minimally invasive. It's certainly a novel idea."

More information

For more on BPH and its treatment, visit the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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