Modalities for lower urinary tract symptom relief: clinical experience

R.E. Amdiy

Pavlov First St. Petersburg State Medical University

Disorders provoking lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are a common issue of clinical urology. The paper reviews pharmacological properties and clinical experience with Serenoa repens fruit extract. Studies on the clinical efficacy of hexanic extract of Serenoa repens (including several meta-analyses) are addressed. These data are illustrated by the clinical examples on the use of this drug for LUTS and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Reducing prostatic inflammation is the key mechanism of symptom relief.

Drugs containing Serenoa repens are commonly prescribed for LUTS. However, the composition of various extracts of Serenoa repens can vary greatly. Hexanic lipidosterolic extract contains the highest levels of free fatty acids, the major biologically active compound of Serenoa repens fruits. It was demonstrated that hexanic extract of Serenoa repens fruits is more effective than placebo in terms of improving symptoms and the quality of life in patients with LUTS, reducing nocturia rate, and increasing maximum urine flow rate. Therefore, hexanic extract of Serenoa repens fruits can be widely applied in daily clinical practice for LUTS.

Keywords: lower urinary tract symptoms, benign prostatic hyperplasia, chronic prostatic inflammation, hexanic extract of Serenoa repens fruits.

For citation: Amdiy R.E. Modalities for lower urinary tract symptom relief: clinical experience. RMJ. 2019;11:15–20.