Feb 6, 2009 5:05 pm US/Eastern
Study: BOTOX May Help Enlarged Prostate
DENVER (CBS) ―
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Patient Mick Bula talks to Dr. Al Barqawi about the study of BOTOX as a treatment for enlarged prostate.
CBS
BOTOX is mostly commonly used as a cosmetic aide -- relaxing the face and smoothing out wrinkles. It's also used to prevent migraines and relieve chronic muscle spasms. Now doctors at the University of Colorado Denver are studying whether BOTOX is an effective treatment for enlarged prostates.
"In theory, BOTOX treats the problem right at the source, relaxing the glandular and smooth muscle of the prostate thereby improving urine flow and decrease residual urine left in the bladder," Dr. Al Barqawi, assistant professor of urology and one of the researchers on the study, said in a press release.
By age 80, 80 percent of men will have an enlarge prostate. They'll experience difficulty urinating, the need to go to the bathroom more frequently, and often getting up throughout the night to go to the bathroom. Right now the most common treatment for enlarge prostate is oral medication.
"We actually want to see if the BOTOX will increase, or improve or prevent the patients from having to take medications for the rest of their lives," Barqawi told CBS station KCNC-TV.
Barqawi says that so far the results have been encouraging.
Patient Mick Bula agrees. He was one of the first patients to sign up for the study.
Bula was getting up to go to the bathroom 3 or 4 times a night. As part of the study, doctors injected BOTOX directly into his enlarged prostate. Soon Bula saw a decrease in his symptoms.
"They told me it had shrunk about 50 percent," Bula said.
The procedure takes about five minutes and patients say it is essentially painless.
The effects of the BOTOX last for about a year. Researchers are still testing dosage and side-effects, but if the study proves successful it could mean many men could come off medication.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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