PAE for BPH

There are several treatments for prostate gland enlargement.  like diuretic and anti-inflammatory pill are two natural therapies. Thus, which is better for BPH, the herbalist Dr. Li Xiaoping will answer it for men.

Thermobalancing therapy works by continuously improving blood circulation locally in the affected organs over a prolonged period of time. The working principles are similar to acupuncture, massage, activating blood and resolving stasis of the prostate. 

However, it can only relieve the symptoms of prostate gland enlargement, it cannot cure BPH thoroughly. Clinically, untreated BPH can cause some complications like dysuresia, blood urine, even kidney problems. Thus, thermobalancing therapy is usually considered as adjuvant therapy for BPH. Besides, due to the process of messaging prostate, there are likely to bring in some bacteria to the prostate, which can aggravate the infections of the prostate.

Clinically, semen is mainly from the prostate. Thus, prostate problems like BPH can cause semen problems which would lead to male infertility. The herbal pill like this herbal medicine contains some herbs like Plantain Seed, Houttuynia cordata, Cowherb Seed, which can clear away heat and kill bacteria. It can kill the bacteria of the prostate, preventing the occurrence of male infertility. 

Besides, the enlargement of prostate gland can make the prostate congestive, which can eventually trigger some serious complications. The herbal pill contains some herbs like Safflower, peach seed and Angelica sinensis to activate blood and resolve stasis, which has the functions of activating blood and resolving stasis, softening hardness and dissipating mass. It can relieve the symptoms of prostate gland enlargement effectively and treat its complications like UTIs etc., even can prevent the prostate calcify. 

What is more, the formula-completed herbal pill is totally made of herbs. It is natural, without any side effects. Due to the prostate's sensibility, it is important to bring no side effect to prostate. And the herbal pill has the effect indeed. 

In summary, Dr. Lee says, according to the explanations above, it is obvious that the herbal therapy like it is better for treating BPH.

I just saw your post. I put my entire response in the other thread on PAE.

I had my PAE with Dr Sandeep Rao in El Paso Texas about 5 months ago. The first 2-3 months, my results varied with 1 day of needing to get up at night for every 4-5 days of improvement, but now I have no more problems peeing!

Dr Rao told me that since PAE is such a new procedure, there are no studies that have seen how patients have done beyond 3 years. But honestly, if my symptoms came back in a few years, the procedure I had done was so painless and quick that I wouldn't mind going back to him to have it done again.

-Sal

My name is Andre Uflacker, MD, and I'm an Interventional Radiologist at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesvlle, VA. My colleague, Dr. Ziv Haskal, and I have just recently obtained the go-ahead from the FDA to conduct a trial of Prostatic Artery Embolization here at UVA, and because of the investigational and new nature of the procedure we feel like physician participation in these boards will be important. 

To answer your question, we don't know for how long PAE will be effective with the current data. The largest trial to date is by Prof. Pisco from Lisbon who reported 255 cases, with sustainable results at around 2 years, with that particular trial mentioning a 72% rate of clinical improvement at 36 months. However, most patients that were followed were followed for less time than that, with the majority of patients having follow up at 12 months or less. There is new data constantly coming out about PAE, and the field is evolving rapidly, so more data is necessary for us to ensure the results are indeed sustained years after the procedure. There are systematic reviews of the published literature on PAE (probably what some members of the forum were referring to earlier), but this is not high level evidence as a true statistical analysis could not made on these data.

That said, we urge men to participate in clinical trials, as this will not only provide important data for future patients, but will also ensure that you as a patient obtain close follow up within a structured protocol that will maximize your safety while undergoing this "new" procedure. Yes, there are more visits, and it is more work for you as a patient in a trial, but at this stage, we feel that PAE should be performed in a controlled, closely monitored setting that a only a clinical trial can provide.

We encourage you to ask your Urologist questions and bring out concerns that you or anyone else may have regarding BPH and your options as well, so all alternatives are presented to you.

Here at UVA, we have extensive combined experience with Angiography and Embolization, and our trial, which is being done in partnership with the Dept. of Urology, is open for enrollment. A link to our trial is given below. 

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02592473

Please do not hesitate to ask us questions.

Good luck in your search for a treatment that works for you. 

All the best,

Andre Uflacker, MD