Lower Urinary Symptoms - What Other Drugs May Help?

[CoastWatcher]

LUTS - Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms, something that most men, as they age, have to deal with. There are a number of drugs available to counter the effects of LUTS, but the search is on - as the population of aging men grows larger - for additional pharmacological treatments.

• A systematic review to evaluate the efficacy and adverse effects of newer drugs used to treat lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) was undertaken.
• The drugs were either Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or not FDA approved for BPH but have been evaluated for treatment of BPH since 2008.
• Bibliographic databases through September 2017 were searched; randomized controlled trials (RCTs) lasting one month or longer published in English were included.
• Twenty-three unique, generally short-term, RCTs evaluating over 9000 participants were identified.
  • Alpha-blocker silodosin and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor tadalafil were more effective than placebo in improving LUTS (moderate strength evidence) but these drugs had more adverse effects, including abnormal ejaculation (silodosin).
  • Anticholinergics were only effective versus placebo when combined with an alpha-blocker.
  • Evidence was generally low strength or insufficient for other drugs.
  • Longer trials are needed to assess the effect of these therapies on response rates using established minimal detectable difference thresholds, disease progression, and harms.

"Efficacy of newer medications for lower urinary tract symptoms attributed to benign prostatic hyperplasia: a systematic review," The aging male : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of the Aging Male. 2018 Feb 02 [Epub ahead of print], https://www.urotoday.com/recent-abs...rostatic-hyperplasia-a-systematic-review.html