A team led by Edinburgh University and University College London studied about 55,000 men in the UK, who had been prescribed
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors over an 11-year period.
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs) are a totally different kind of drug, which shrink the glandular tissue of the prostate, reducing its bulk to eventually reduce constriction by the prostate as well.
1).[sup.4] The mainstay of medical treatments includes alpha-blockers,
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs), or a combination of the two.
First-line therapies indude alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonists (alpha-blockers) and
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (5-AR1s).
Exclusion criteria also included: consumption of food rich in soy isoflavonoids, dietary supplements of any kind, medication with possible effects on prostate health such as antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, alpha-1 -adrenoreceptor antagonist and
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors.
Cancer chemopreventive approaches may include
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, histone deacetylase inhibitors, antioxidans, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, cholesterol-lowering statins, vitamin D analogues.
FDA-approved conventional medications used to treat BPH are of two categories, alpha-antagonists and
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors.
Adverse side effects of
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors therapy: persistent diminished libido and erectile dysfunction and depression in a subset of patients.
Patients were excluded if they had used
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors, if they had undergone prior prostate surgery, had a prior diagnosis of prostate cancer, had used androgen ablative therapies, had evidence of prostatitis, or if they were allergic to fluoroquinolones.
Drugs known as
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors like finasteride (Proscar) are widely used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia (enlarged prostate).
Medications called
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors (Proscar, for example) help shrink the prostate.
Previous treatment with
5-alpha-reductase inhibitors was not allowed and alpha-blockers were discontinued at least 14 days prior to study.