Botox, appears to alter specific cellular processes that contribute to prostate enlargement according to new study results presented by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan at the International Continence Society annual meeting in Montreal.
Botox is the commercial name given to a toxin which is produced from botulism toxin.
"Most men consider an enlarged prostate and the irritating symptoms that accompany it as an inevitability of aging and may not seek help because currently available therapies can have serious side effects, including impotence," said Michael Chancellor, M.D., professor of urology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. "Alternative treatments are needed and we've taken an important step by demonstrating how Botox can work as a potential new therapy for the large number of men who suffer from this condition."
The research team had previously demonstrated that injection of Botox (botulinum toxin A) into the prostate gland produced improvement in symptoms such as the frequent urge to urinate, incomplete emptying of the bladder and low urine flow rate in men with bladder outlet obstruction due to BPH. The current study was conducted to investigate the mechanism of action by which Botox might work to reduce these symptoms.