Effect of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy on prostate volume and vascularity in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: A pilot study in a canine model

Abstract

BACKGROUNDBenign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a result of urogenital aging. Recent studies suggest that an age-related impairment of the blood supply to the lower urinary tract plays a role in the development of BPH and thus may be a contributing factor in the pathogenesis of BPH. The canine prostate is a model for understanding abnormal growth of the human prostate gland. We studied the efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) in dogs to modify prostate blood flow and evaluated its effect on BPH.METHODSPEMF (5 min, twice a day for 3 weeks) was performed on 20 dogs affected by BPH. Prostatic volume, Doppler assessment by ultrasonography, libido, semen quality, testosterone levels, and seminal plasma volume, composition and pH were evaluated before and after treatment.RESULTSThe 3 weeks of PEMF produced a significant reduction in prostatic volume (average 57%) without any interference with semen quality, testosterone levels or libido. Doppler parameters showed a reduction of peripheral resistances and a progressive reduction throughout the trial of the systolic peak velocity, end-diastolic velocity, mean velocity, mean, and peak gradient of the blood flow in the dorsal branch of the prostatic artery. The pulsatility index and the resistance index did not vary significantly over time.CONCLUSIONSThe efficacy of PEMF on BPH in dogs, with no side effects, suggests the suitability of this treatment in humans and supports the hypothesis that impairment of blood supply to the lower urinary tract may be a causative factor in the development of BPH. Prostate 74:1132–1141, 2014. © 2014 The Authors. The Prostate published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Therapeutic use of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy reduces prostate volume and lower urinary tract symptoms in benign prostatic hyperplasia

“…In particular, a pre-clinical study demonstrated the effectiveness of PEMF therapy in reducing PV in dogs affected by BPH. 37 To the best of our knowledge, only two human studies have used PEMF in the treatment of BPH. 23,24 So far, different devices have been used for PEMFs therapy, tailoring treatment duration according to tissue-specific conductivity and field strengths produced by the device used.…”

Serum testosterone, sperm quality, cytological, physicochemical and biochemical characteristics of the prostatic fraction of dogs with prostatomegaly

“…However, few studies quantified the biochemical constituents in seminal plasma of healthy dogs (England & Allen, ; Mann & L‐Mann, ) or dogs with prostatic diseases (Motheo et al., ). The biochemical assessment of the canine prostatic fluid may help to identify possible biomarkers of prostatic diseases and may provide important benefits for human medicine (Aquino‐Cortez, Silva, Araújo, Menezes, & Moura, ), as the dog is used as an experimental model for the study of prostatic diseases in men (Leoci, Aiudi, Silvestre, Lissner, & Lacalandra, ).…”

Clinical approach to prostatic diseases in the dog

“…The employ of an anti‐oestrogenic compound, tamoxifen citrate, is also reported in the literature; it gives a competitive block on oestrogen receptors with a mixed agonist‐antagonist mechanism (Corrada et al, ). Moreover, some authors suggest the use of plants extract to treat BPH (Odenthal, ), while others demonstrated the efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy on BHP in dogs with no apparent side effects (Leoci, Aiudi, Silvestre, Lissner, & Lacalandra, ). When large cysts are present, the surgical treatments proposed in literature are drainage, resection of the cyst with or without drainage placement, omentalization, marsupialization and partial or total prostatectomy (Smith, ).…”

“…Moreover, some authors suggest the use of plants extract to treat BPH (Odenthal, 2017), while others demonstrated the efficacy of pulsed electromagnetic field therapy on BHP in dogs with no apparent side effects (Leoci, Aiudi, Silvestre, Lissner, & Lacalandra, 2014).…”