Finasteride for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
This study is evaluating whether MRI can be used to predict which patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia will respond to a drug.
See full descriptionAbout the trial for Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms
Treatment Groups
This trial involves 2 different treatments. Finasteride is the primary treatment being studied. Participants will all receive the same treatment. There is no placebo group. The treatments being tested are not being studied for commercial purposes.
About The Treatment
Side Effect Profile for Finasteride
Eligibility
This trial is for male patients aged 18 and older. There are 8 eligibility criteria to participate in this trial as listed below.
Approximate Timelines
Measurement Requirements
This trial is evaluating whether Finasteride will improve 1 primary outcome in patients with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms. Measurement will happen over the course of Assessment of Finasteride responsiveness through changes in urinary symptoms will be completed at 6 month intervals during clinic visits, and treatment efficacy will be determined after the first 12 months..
Who is running the study
Principal InvestigatorPatient Q & A Section
Can lower urinary tract symptoms be cured?
If LUTS is caused by BPH, patients should be informed about the lack of evidence for the hypothesis that LUTS can be cured and the increased potential risk of prostate cancer if the diagnosis of LUTS is made before prostate cancer is detected.
What is lower urinary tract symptoms?
LUTS are very common, with a frequency comparable to the general population. LUTS are associated with a lower quality of life in men. The most important LUTS are urgency, nocturia and incontinence related to all components of the IPSS.
How many people get lower urinary tract symptoms a year in the United States?
There are about 1.28 million American persons who have LUTS with the greatest burden on their lives occurring in those with mild LUTS and moderate to severe LUTS.
What are common treatments for lower urinary tract symptoms?
About one-third of men presenting with lower urinary tract symptoms could have urological treatment for a non-urinary cause. The most common treatments were medications, such as alpha-blockers. Many of these medications could worsen or lessen the men’s symptoms.
What causes lower urinary tract symptoms?
Female and male patients with LUTS exhibit different lifestyles. LUTS also differs depending on the patients' age; LUTS increases across all age groups until middle age, but men and women over the age of 70 report LUTS at higher rates than younger men and women.
What are the signs of lower urinary tract symptoms?
Patients with lower urinary tract symptoms often present with other symptoms, which may be underestimated. It is vital that gynaecologists take these into account when performing transvaginal pelvic examination in these patients.
How serious can lower urinary tract symptoms be?
Symptoms associated with lower urinary tract infection occur as common as urinary incontinence and occur more often when they are of moderate to severe intensity. Patients' attitudes towards lower urinary tract symptoms are a poor predictor of their impact as they do not necessarily recognize their impact on their daily functioning.
Have there been any new discoveries for treating lower urinary tract symptoms?
The diagnosis and treatment of lower urinary tract diseases does not improve after the introduction of new treatment modalities. Although treatment guidelines are usually considered, these are only published for select patients, not for the general population.
What does finasteride usually treat?
Finasteride has no effect on urinary symptoms. Finasteride may be useful for reducing the recurrence of prostate cancer when combined with androgen deprivation therapy. Patients may experience reduced urinary symptoms such as urgency and the urge/toilet incontinence without an increase of serious urinary side effects with finasteride.
What is finasteride?
Finasteride is a drug with multiple uses. On the one hand, it is marketed for its treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). BPH is characterized by a noncancerous growth of the prostate gland that causes urinary frequency, feeling of incomplete emptying, difficulty urinating, or an inability to get rid of urine, or to empty the bladder completely in a consistent way. On the other hand, finasteride is marketed for the treatment of adult male pattern hair loss. Hair will begin to thin as a result of androgens. The connection between hair shedding and men, especially baldness, has been well documented for thousands and millennia.
What is the average age someone gets lower urinary tract symptoms?
There is a strong association between age at baseline and subsequent risk of developing LUTS and BOO. As such, it appears that most people who develop LUTS suffer from symptoms earlier in their lives. This research can be used to help patients and their families to better manage their voiding dysfunction.
Is finasteride safe for people?
[Finasteride 20 mg once daily had no significant effect on the frequency of adverse effects in a study of people with lower urinary tract symptoms. A greater number of people treated with finasteride 20 mg reported experiencing a greater number of adverse effects than placebo-treated men (6.3% vs, 4.1%) or women (9.1% vs, 5.7%), and these effects were related to higher doses of finasteride used for men (finasteride 2.0 mg versus finasteride 20 mg for men, and finasteride 20 mg versus finasteride 2.0 mg for women (p<0.0001; relative dose ratios 10).