Health Conditions

What is on the horizon?

In recent years many new drug therapies have been under development. Many of these new drugs work in ways that no other drugs for this condition work. This means in the future we will probably see more combination drug therapies for BPH. Some of the most interesting data has come from Europe.

In August 2003, Italian physicians showed that injection of Botox into the prostate appears to be a safe and effective treatment for BPH. Currently, Botox is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration only for cosmetic applications. However, animal experiments recently showed that Botox injected into the prostate causes it to shrink. However, it is important to realize that currently the use of Botox in the urinary tract is clearly investigational and it should be strongly emphasized that more research looking at its use in the BPH population is needed.

In December 2007, researchers concluded a four year study investigating the effect of dual therapy with dutasteride (Avodart) and tamsulosin (Flomax) on treating lower urinary tract symptoms associated with BPH. The results of this study showed that, compared with monotherapy, combination therapy resulted in significantly greater improvements in lower urinary tract symptoms. Although dual therapy appeared more efficacious than montherapy, it was also associated with more adverse effects.