Doctor Finds Relief for Painful Prostate Condition

By Charlotte Bumstead

According to the Prostatitis Research Group at Kingston General Hospital and Queen’s University, new findings have produced a treatment to improve quality of life for men suffering from chronic prostatitis, otherwise known as chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS). Symptoms can be reduced through use of a specific alpha blocker known as silodosin, which works by selectively relaxing the muscles in the bladder neck and prostate.

The treatment has been previously approved in Canada, the United States, the EU and Japan for the purpose of treating benign prostatic hyperplasia, another prostate gland condition commonly described as an enlarged prostate. Though CP/CPPS is the most common form of prostatitis, it is also considered the most misunderstood and generally difficult to treat, requiring precise screening and testing. The cause of the condition is yet to be identified. Symptoms can cause severe discomfort in the lower pelvic area, including the bladder area, testicles and penis.

Lead researcher Dr. Curtis Nickel has been studying CP/CPPS for the past two decades. “Antibiotics are commonly used as a treatment but are not typically effective, probably because CP/CPPS does not seem to be caused by a bacterial infection,” explains Nickel, a professor in the department of urology and practising urologist at Kingston General Hospital. Approximately 60 per cent of the men participating in Nickel’s study reported decreased pain after treatment with silodosin.

Nickel presented his results earlier this week at the American Urological Association annual meeting in Washington, DC. The new findings are to be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Urology.