Overactive bladder in the male patient: epidemiology, etiology, evaluation, and treatment

The urologist's approach to the diagnosis and treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in male patients has changed significantly over the past decade. Advances in the basic science arena combined with a wealth of clinical data have pointed to the importance of bladder pathophysiology in the development of urinary symptoms. Historically, men with LUTS were diagnosed with "prostatism," an all-encompassing term that includes both voiding and storage symptoms that may or may not be related to prostatic obstruction. Parallel to the scientific advances in the field, the urologic lexicon began to evolve and has allowed us to more specifically describe, and therefore investigate and treat, different aspects of male LUTS. It is now well recognized that many men suffer from storage symptoms that may be more related to bladder dysfunction than to prostatic obstruction. It will be critical to integrate our knowledge of prostatic growth and obstruction, the bladder response to outlet obstruction, environmental and lifestyle factors, and age-related changes to fully understand the complex pathophysiology of male LUTS, specifically overactive bladder syndrome.