The Effect of Finasteride in Men with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Abstract

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is a progressive, androgen-dependent disease resulting in enlargement of the prostate gland and urinary obstruction. Preventing the conversion of testosterone to its tissue-active form, dihydrotestosterone, by inhibiting the enzyme 5α-reductase could decrease the action of androgens in their target tissues; in the prostate the result might be a decrease in prostatic hyperplasia and therefore in symptoms of urinary obstruction.