Prostate Health Problems

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The prostate which is part of the male reproductive system is a walnut-shaped organ about the size of a chestnut, consisting of glandular and muscular tissue. It is located in front of the rectum and below the neck of the bladder, surrounding the urethra (prostatic part). It principally stores and secretes a milky alkaline fluid which contains about 20 percent of the semen, spermatozoa and seminal fluid. The secretion provides an added medium that helps to maintain the life and motility of sperm and also helps neutralize the acidic fluid in the female vaginal tract. The proper function of the prostate is dependent on testosterone. The prostate weighs only few grams at birth, but grows significantly during puberty and reaches the adult size of about 20g by age 20. It then remains relatively stable in size until the fifth decade of life when the second growth spot begins in most men. Therefore prostate health problems are commoner in men over the age of 45years and the incidence increases with age, such that by the ninth decade of life, almost 90 percent of men have some degree of prostate gland enlargement.

While age is the most important predisposing factor, it has been observed that for some unknown reason, prostate health problems are more common in African American men when compared to Caucasians.There are multiple conditions that may affect the prostate and the patient's complaint depends on the cause, the stage of the condition and whether it causes obstructive or irritative symptoms. We will discuss the most common disorders: benign prostate hyperplasia, prostate cancer and prostatism.

Common Prostate Health Problems

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)

Benign enlargement of the prostate (commonly referred to as hyperplasia) is a disease that commonly affects aging males. There is stromal and epithelial hyperplasia which predominantly affects the transitional (periurethral) zone of the prostate. The symptoms of benign prostate hyperplasia can either be due to obstruction to urinary flow (from compression of the bladder neck or prostatic urethra) or irritative (due to contraction of bladder detrusor muscle from irritation caused by the enlarged prostate gland). Both types of symptoms coexist 50 percent of the time. >>Read More

Cancer Of The Prostate

Prostate caner is now the most common malignancy in men ( in the US) and also the second leading cause of cancer related deaths in men. The symptoms and signs of prostate cancer can resemble very closely those of benign prostate hyperplasia, except that other abnormalities are also found on examination of the prostate gland. Patients may be asymptomatic, show mild or exhibit frank symptoms. >>Read More

Prostatitis

Prostatitis describes the inflammation of the prostate gland which is often caused by infections. But inflammation of the prostate may also occur without any evidence of bacterial infection. Most bacterial prostatitis are caused by E.coli and Klebsiella, while non-bacterial prostatis are often caused by Chlamydia trachomatis and Ureaplasma Urealyticum. Prostatitis can cause urinary symptoms and impaired ejaculation. There are three major types: bacterial, non-bacterial, and prostatodynia prostatitis.
>>Read More

Complications Of Enlarged Prostate

Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections
Renal Insufficiency
Urinary Retention
Bladder stones
Prostate Abscess

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