The prostate is small, chestnut sized organ of the male pelvis, which can cause significant problems with advancing age.
Benign prostatic hypertrophy - BPH, an enlargement of the prostate, can lead to problems with micturition (urination - voiding of the bladder) and inflammation of the prostate, bladder and kidneys.
If the prostate is enlarged and symptoms occur, treatment is inevitable. Certain medication can lead to a modest reduction in size of the prostate. If this is insufficient to reduce symptoms, surgical treatment can be performed to enlarge the channel inside the prostate through which the urin passes. |
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Green laser treatment less painful than red laser or surgery because of better tissue coagulation ?
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Another common problem of the prostate is prostate cancer, also a disease of advanced age. Contrary to benign prostatic hypertrophy, prostate cancer usually dose not cause and symptoms and would remain undetected until the disease is too far advanced to be treated successfully.
Screening for prostate cancer is recommended for men beyond the age of 50. Digital rectal exam and PSA-test (prostate specific antigen are the commonly employed methods. Better results can be achieved through transrectal ultrasound and MRI, both non-invasive imaging methods which provide a high sensitivity for the detection of prostate cancer.
If the PSA-level is high, doctors will usually recommend a prostate biopsy, the sampling of prostate tissue with small needles inserted through the rectum. This, however, does not always yield the desired information, since the cancer can be missed during the biopsy.
A non-invasive method for tissue specific diagnosis is afforded by 1H-MR-spectroscopy of the prostate, a non-invasive magnetic resonance method which can differentiate different metabolites inside the prostate. Whilst normal prostate tissue contains high amounts of citrate, higher levels of cholin are characteristic for prostate cancer.
Erectile dysfunction is another problem of aging men. Frequently vascular problems are responsible. Whilst modern imaging methods provide means to check the vascular supply of the penis non-invasively, erectile dysfunction can be the tip of the iceberg of other, more serious medical problems, such as diabetes, coronary artery disease or increased risk of stroke, all of which have to be addressed in the work-up of erectile dysfunction. Simply taking Viagra is not enough !
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