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Prostate volume in male patients with spinal cord injury: a question of nerves?
Author(s) -
Pannek Jürgen,
Bartel Peter,
Göcking Konrad,
Frotzler Angela
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
bju international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1464-410X
pISSN - 1464-4096
DOI - 10.1111/bju.12027
Subject(s) - medicine , prostate , spinal cord injury , lower urinary tract symptoms , urology , surgery , spinal cord , cancer , psychiatry
Objective To assess the influence of standardized complete surgical deafferentation of the lower urinary tract by sacral deafferentation ( SDAF ) and sacral anterior root stimulation ( SARS ) on prostate volume in men with spinal cord injury ( SCI ).Patients and Methods In a prospective study, the prostate volume of men with SCI who underwent SDAF / SARS was measured using transrectal ultrasonography. The prostate volumes of these men were compared with those of men with complete SCI but who did not undergo SDAF / SARS , those of men with incomplete SCI , and those of a historical sample of able‐bodied men.Results The median [25th;75th percentile] prostate volume of men who underwent SDAF / SARS (20.0 [14.0; 29.0]) and of men with complete SCI who did not undergo SDAF / SARS (20.0 [16.5; 29.0]) was significantly smaller than in the reference group (25.0 [5.0; 84.0]). The mean prostate volume was associated with age in the reference group ( r = 0.185; P < 0.001) and in men with incomplete SCI ( r = 0.284; P = 0.031), but not in men with complete SCI , irrespective of SDAF / SARS .Conclusions The prostate volume of men with complete SCI was significantly smaller than that of able‐bodied men. Our data imply that sustained central innervation of the prostate plays an important role in prostate growth.