Group items tagged

Authors review the literature behind Testosterone and BPH.  The authors highlight the 4 proposed theories behind BPH: Testosterone, Estrogen, inflammation, and metabolic.   The conclusion is mixed: pointing out that no high level of evidence exists on either side of the debate of Testosterone and BPH.

Increased aromatase activity is found in BPH.  PGE2 increases aromatase activity and thus increases Estradiol production in the stroma of the prostate.

Study doesn't find alot of "good" evidence to support Chinese herbal medicine in BPH.  However, the author states: "Before the introduction of conventional medication and surgery to China, the Chinese had solely relied on CHM to treat BPH for more than three thousand years".  That is 3,000 years of observational data that is being tossed out the window.

Estrogen receptor beta shown to be a potential site of application of therapy to treat BPH and prostate cancer.  

xanthohumol inhibits NF-kappaB activiity in prostate cells of BPH and cancer.

Saw Palmetto extract found to be potent inhibitor of 5alpha reductase activity.   Inhibition was 61%.  This study looked at the inhibition in those men with BPH.

difficult, technical read...but take home is that ER alpha expression is increased in the male prostrate stromal cells in response to elevated estradiol levels.  Remember, that ER alpha promotes inflammation and growth.  Thus, in part, this helps to explain BPH.

Metabolic syndrome in men associated with progressive BPH and increased severity of LUTS.

aromatization of androstenedione to estrogen shown to play role in prostatitis, BPH, and prostate cancer.  In this study, they looked at aromatase inhibition to slow this process.

this study finds aromatase presence in the stroma of the prostate and not the epithelium of the prostate.  This would support the thought that increased aromatase activity and thus conversion of Testosterone to Estradiol in the prostate stroma contributes to BPH.

ER alpha and ER beta receptors play role in BPH and prostate cancers.  ER alpha is proliferative and inflammatory: ER beta is inhibitory.

Men with BPH found to have higher levels of stromal Estradiol and Estrone.  This is associated with aging.  This elevation was not found in the prostate epithelium.  No correlation with Testosterone and the stroma and epithelium were found.  So, the point is that what is happening in the prostate appears to be related to increased aromatase activity in the prostate.  Which this has been shown to be evident in the lateral lobes of the prostate in other studies.  But DHT?  The numbers here are slightly elevated.  BUt the balance of DHT to Estradiol may be more important than the individual levels.  This study was done in humans.

older study on the underlying biochemistry of BPH and prostate cancer.  Some of this data presented is outdated

ER beta expression that is lost in prostate carcinogenesis occurs via methylation at the ER beta gene promoter sites 19CpG.  What is really interesting is that ER beta expression was present in all of the samples with BPH, but was absent in 83% of the prostate cancer samples.

aromatase knockout mice, thus elevated androgens without estrogen production, develop BPH but not prostate cancer.  This points to estrogen as the important hormone in carcinogenesis of the prostate. Granted this is a animal model.

The authors of this paper describe BPH as a metabolic disease: involving inflammation with increased expression of TLRs, hormone imbalance and altered metabolism

Much has been debated about the effects of androgens on prostate growth.  However, growing evidence is emerging that prostatic aromatase activity is responsible.  This study finds that high aromatase activity and thus Testosterone to Estradiol conversion in the prostate stroma is responsible for the pathogenesis of BPH.

This study found an association between increasing BMI and low T in men with BPH.

Correlation found between increasing MetS components and LUTS/BPH incidence.  This points to more of a inflammatory, estrogen contribution, rather than an excess Testosterone issue as MetS is associated clearly with low T in men with MetS.

Men with NAFLD have higher incidence of lower urinary tract symptoms including BPH.