Deja Vu All Over Again -- Saw Palmetto Again Found Not to Help Prostate

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September 28, 2011--

For years older men have supplemented with saw palmetto, a natural herb, in the belief that it would help to shrink an enlarge prostate and diminish the need to urinate frequently.

The growth of the prostate can make it difficult to urinate and can cause urinary tract infections.

Enlarged prostate is a common condition of aging that affects about half of men in the U.S. over age 50, and 75% by age 80.

That belief was dashed originally in early 2006 when a University of California, San Francisco double blind study found that saw palmetto was no more effective than a placebo in changing symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

"These supplements cost about $30 or more a month, and they obviously don't help."

Claus Roehrborn, Chairman of Urology at University of Texas Southwestern

The prostate (above) is a walnut-sized gland that secretes lubricants into the lining of the urethra and optimizes the environment for sperm. As men age, the prostate tends to enlarge, putting pressure on the urethra and affecting urination.

BPH, very common among men over 50, is an enlargement of the prostate (a walnut-sized gland that secretes lubricants into the lining of the urethra and optimizes the environment for sperm). The symptoms are typically increased frequency, urgency and/or decreased force of urination.

The most recent study was led by Michael Barry of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where researchers followed 379 men age 45 and older whose symptoms included difficulty emptying their bladders, weak and/or frequent urination.

As part of the randomized trial, some received saw palmetto extract -- which comes from the berries of the saw palmetto dwarf plant tree -- and others were given a sugar pill that smelled and tasted the same.

"None of them showed any effect whatsoever in contrast to placebo," said co-author Claus Roehrborn, chairman of urology at University of Texas Southwestern, "These supplements cost about $30 or more a month, and they obviously don't help."

Measurements showed the drug, even when increased in dosage over 72 weeks, had no impact on urinary symptoms such as nighttime urination or incontinence, and did not improve sexual function or allow men to sleep better.

Posting date: 09/28/11

Source: AFP

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