The pathophysiology of benign prostatic hyperplasia

Although benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of the most common disease processes affecting the aging male, surprisingly little is known about its pathophysiology. Cause-and-effect relationships have not been established, despite intense research efforts in the last four or five decades aimed at elucidating the underlying etiology of prostatic growth in older men. Previously held notions that the clinical symptoms of BPH (prostatism) are due simply to a mass-related increase in urethral resistance are too simplistic. It is now clear that a significant portion of the symptoms are due to obstruction-induced detrusor dysfunction. Moreover, obstruction may induce a variety of neural alterations in the bladder and prostate that contribute to symptomatology. Undoubtedly, the constellation of cellular pathologies that give rise to the symptoms of BPH will be far more complex than we currently realize. Only by unraveling these complexities, however, will we be able successfully to design alternative strategies to treat, and possibly prevent BPH.