Prostate volume in male patients with spinal cord injury: a question of nerves?

• Published in: BJU international 2013-08, Vol.112 (4), p.495-500
• Main Authors: Pannek, Jürgen, Bartel, Peter, Göcking, Konrad, Frotzler, Angela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Aged; Androgens; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebrospinal fluid. Meninges. Spinal cord; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction; Neurology; Organ Size; Prospective Studies; Prostate; Prostate - growth & development; Prostate - innervation; sacral deafferentation; SARS coronavirus; Spinal cord injuries; Spinal Cord Injuries - physiopathology; spinal cord injury; Urinary system involvement in other diseases. Miscellaneous; Urinary tract. Prostate gland
• ISSN: 1464-4096; 1464-410X
• DOI: 10.1111/bju.12027

Objective To assess the influence of standardized complete surgical deafferentation of the lower urinary tract by sacral deafferentation (SDAF) and sacral anterior root stimulation (SARS) on prostate volume in men with spinal cord injury (SCI). Patients and Methods In a prospective study, the prostate volume of men with SCI who underwent SDAF/SARS was measured using transrectal ultrasonography. The prostate volumes of these men were compared with those of men with complete SCI but who did not undergo SDAF/SARS, those of men with incomplete SCI, and those of a historical sample of able‐bodied men. Results The median [25th;75th percentile] prostate volume of men who underwent SDAF/SARS (20.0 [14.0; 29.0]) and of men with complete SCI who did not undergo SDAF/SARS (20.0 [16.5; 29.0]) was significantly smaller than in the reference group (25.0 [5.0; 84.0]). The mean prostate volume was associated with age in the reference group (r = 0.185; P < 0.001) and in men with incomplete SCI (r = 0.284; P = 0.031), but not in men with complete SCI, irrespective of SDAF/SARS. Conclusions The prostate volume of men with complete SCI was significantly smaller than that of able‐bodied men. Our data imply that sustained central innervation of the prostate plays an important role in prostate growth.