Saw Palmetto for enlarged prostate

Physician-scientists are studying an herbal supplement that might aid in reducing the symptoms of an enlarged prostate in men. Recent figures show that benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) occurs in an estimated 50 percent of men over the age of 50 and in 75 percent of men 80 and older.

The research team, led by Dr. Steven A. Kaplan, professor of urology at Weill Cornell Medical College and attending urologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell, will study the affects of using saw palmetto extract compared to a placebo, with the hope of reducing the symptoms of BPH. Symptoms include difficulty starting a urine stream (hesitancy and straining), decreased strength of the urine stream (weak flow), feeling that the bladder is not completely empty, an urge to urinate again soon after urinating and pain during urination (dysuria).

It is theorized that compounds called phytoesterols, found in saw palmetto, might prevent prostate enlargement. Experts believe that prostate swelling may be caused by a rise in dihydrotestosterone (DHT) -- a testosterone derivative involved in prostate growth -- over a male's lifespan, especially during middle age. Scientists are unclear as to what causes the hormone to rise with time. However, escalating estrogen within the body has been correlated with, but has not been proven to be, directly promoting BPH. Like a basketball player blocking a shot from going into a basket, phytoesterols in saw palmetto might block natural estrogen from binding to receptors in the body.