The Relationship of Lower Urinary System Symptoms Due to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia and Urinary Glycosaminoglycan Level

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are one of the most common conditions in the urology clinic, affecting at least one in four men after 40 years of age. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is the most common cause of LUTS. Bladder dysfunction (hypersensitivity or detrusor overactivity) and bladder outlet obstruction are two main pathologies involved in the etiology of LUTS. In men aged 40-49, moderate and severe LUTS are reported as 26%, while this ratio is doubled in the age group of 70 years and older. Clinically, BPH is defined as an international symptom score of more than 8, a prostate volume of more than 30 ml, and a maximum flow rate of less than 15 ml / sec. Alpha blockers are recommended as the first-line medical treatment according to European Urology Guidelines (EAU Guidelines 2018) for patients diagnosed with BPH clinically. In recent years, many studies have been published on the relationship of urinary biomarkers with LUTS. Nerve growth factor and brain derived neurotrophic factor have been shown to be closely related to neurogenic or non-neurogenic detrusor overactivity and significant improvements were observed after treatment.The relationship between urinary glycosaminoglycan and overactive bladder has been shown and it has been reported that the values have decreased after treatment.Male patients with LUTS caused by BPH often have symptoms of overactive bladder. However, as far as we know, there is no study in the literature about the meaning of urinary GAG levels in this patient group. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between urinary glycosaminoglycan levels and patients who had benign prostatic hyperplasia with and without overactive bladder symptoms.