A clinical trial was conducted in a study group of 70 males diagnosed with symptomatic benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) (synonym of benign prostatic hyperplasia). They were administered Prostane, a herbal formulation, at a dose of two tablets a day for 1 year and monitored every 4 months during the study period. Analysis of the results showed an improvement in the symptom score of the American Urological Association symptom index rating. There was total relief in pain and haematuria in all the patients (100%); dribbling of urine decreased in 67%, dysuria in 50%, urgency in 60% and hesitancy in 40%. Blood urea levels were within the normal range in 70% of the patients and in the range 31-40 mg/dL in the remaining patients of the study group. Serum prostate specific antigen levels returned to normal in 56% of patients and were in the range 4.1-5.0 ng/mL in 25% of patients. There was a decrease in prostate specific antigen values which were >6 ng/mL in 9 patients at the commencement of the trial. Uroflowmetry studies showed that the peak flow increased from 12.6 to 30.7 s (p<0.001) and the void volume from 60.72 to 660 mL (p<0.001), the latent period reduced from 12.78 s to 2.61 s; the flow time from 57.01 s to 20.17 s and the residual volume from 620 mL to 20 mL (p<0.001). From these results, it is evident that Prostane was effective in alleviating symptoms, reducing prostate specific antigen values and normalizing uroflow dynamics in patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy.
Copyright 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.