Saw palmetto flunks prostate exam.An herbal supplement used by 2.5 million men in the United States has failed to outperform a dummy capsule when taken for urinary problems. Some men treat themselves for enlarged prostate glands by taking saw palmetto extract Saw palmetto extract is an extract of the fruit of Serenoa repens. It is rich in fatty acids and phytosterols, and has been shown to be effective in the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia[1]. , which is derived from the berries of the North American scrub palm (Serenoa repens). The condition, called benign prostatic hyperplasia benign prostatic hyperplasia n. Abbr. BPH A nonmalignant enlargement of the prostate gland commonly occurring in men after the age of 50, and sometimes leading to compression of the urethra and obstruction of the flow of urine. (BPH BPH abbr. benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH Benign prostatic hypertrophy, a very common noncancerous cause of prostatic enlargement in older men. ), squeezes the urethra, making urination urination Process of excreting urine from the bladder (see urinary system). Nerve centres in the spinal cord, brain stem, and cerebral cortex control it through involuntary and voluntary muscles. The need to void is felt when the bladder holds 3. difficult and frequent. Symptoms include a need to get up at night to urinate. Several earlier studies showed that although saw palmetto didn't shrink the prostate, it eased urinary symptoms somewhat. In one study, it relieved symptoms as well as did the drug finasteride Finasteride Definition Finasteride is a drug that belongs to the class of androgen inhibitors, which means that it blocks the production of male sex hormones. It is sold in the United States and Canada under the brand names Proscar and Propecia. , which doctors prescribe for BHP under the brand names Propecia and Proscar. But in the Feb. 9 New England Journal of Medicine The New England Journal of Medicine (New Engl J Med or NEJM) is an English-language peer-reviewed medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is one of the most popular and widely-read peer-reviewed general medical journals in the world. , scientists report that 112 men with BPH who took two capsules of saw palmetto extract daily for a year still had symptoms similar to those reported by 113 men with BPH who took inert capsules. The men weren't told the contents of their capsules during the trial. The active ingredient in saw palmetto is unknown, and preparations vary in content. That makes it hard to know whether these new results apply to all saw palmetto supplements, says study coauthor Stephen Bent, an internist at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco. Nevertheless, the new study "tips the scale back toward uncertainty" about saw palmetto, he says.--N.S. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion