Antidepressant Soothes Prostate Pain

Sept. 16, 2002 -- An antidepressant may help ease the pain of a common prostate disorder among men. A new study shows the drug Luvox may provide a much-needed treatment option for men with a potentially disabling prostate condition known as prostatodynia.

According to researchers, the condition may account for up to 25% of all doctor's office visits for urinary problems among American men. Symptoms of prostatodynia include pain in the genital area, pain with urination, or difficulty urinating that lasts for more than six months.

In their study, 42 men with prostatodynia were given either Luvox or a placebo for eight weeks. The men -- ranging in age from 18 to 72 -- were also evaluated for depression and anxiety throughout the study. The study was funded by Solvay Pharmaceuticals, makers of Luvox.

The authors say the disorder responds poorly to conventional treatments with antibiotics or anti-inflammatory medications. But their study found men treated with Luvox reported significant reductions in pain after as little as four weeks of treatment.

Researchers say the "improvement in pain scores was not a result of mere change in mood" because the two groups had similar mental health scores at the end of the study.

Luvox is part of a class of antidepressants known as SSRIs, which includes Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft. The drug affects the activity of the brain chemical serotonin, which is linked to depression and mental disorders, and is commonly used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder.

In addition to reporting relief from prostate pain, 88% of the men in the Luvox group also had improvement in urinary flow, compared to only 16% of men taking the placebo.

Study researcher Douglas Turkington, FRCPsych, of the department of psychiatry at the Royal Victory Infirmary in Newcastle, England, and colleagues say their findings may also provide important clues about what causes prostatodynia. They say the impressive response to an SSRI suggests that the condition may be triggered by infection, trauma, or certain surgical procedures, which cause levels of serotonin to drop.