Unique Male Physiology - The Prostate Gland

The prostate (from Greek προστάτης - prostates, literally "one who stands before", "protector", "guardian") is a donut shaped excretory gland unique to the physiology of the male reproductive system. A healthy human prostate is slightly larger than a walnut. It sits below the urinary bladder and surrounds the urethra, the tube which allows urine to pass from the bladder to the penis.

The primary function of the prostate gland is to produce an alkaline fluid which mixes with semen during ejaculation, carrying the sperm on their journey and protecting them from the acid environment of the vagina. This is important to help increase the chance of fertilisation.

Throughout early childhood the prostate gland is very small (about the size of a pea) but grows rapidly during puberty in response to the production of the male hormone testosterone. Once it reaches about the size of a walnut it remains relatively stable until around 40 years of age, when it often begins growing again. From this point, though the growth is very slow, it doesn’t stop growing for the rest of a man’s life.

Abnormal prostate enlargement occurs in 50% of men over 60 and up to 80% of men over 70. It is the abnormal enlargement, combined with the crucial location of the prostate, that can lead to the problems associated with what is commonly called an enlarged prostate or BPH (Benign prostatic hyperplasia).

The prostate gland is divided into the three sections known as the peripheral, central and transition sections. The peripheral section is situated to the rear of the prostate and is the section in which prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland) and prostate cancer are most likely to develop. The transition section, which lies in the middle of the prostate gland and surrounds the urethra, is the area in which benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is seen.

Prostate health can be maintained by good diet and nutrition, a healthy lifestyle with adequate exercise, and nutritional and herbal supplements that support normal healthy prostate growth and function.

Prostate/pelvic floor exercise

While general fitness is important, one important exercise to practice is the pelvic floor lift.

The exercise: Stand up, breath out, contract or squeeze the muscles around the anus, suck your belly in and up and hold for a few seconds, release and repeat 10 - 50 times daily. Doing this stimulates blood flow to your reproductive system, tones the muscles around the prostate and throughout the pelvis, massages the prostate and also helps to maintain libido.

Prostate Diseases

There are a number of problems associated with the prostate gland. The most common of these is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Most prostate problems can be associated with similar symptoms including:

• Frequent urination or the feeling of needing to urinate
• Feeling that the bladder does not empty completely
• Post void dribbling
• Waking frequently at night to urinate
• Sudden or urgent need to urinate
• Difficulty in starting to urinate
• Slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping
• Discomfort when urinating
• Discomfort or pain deep inside the pelvis
• Painful ejaculation
• Blood in the urine or semen
• Decrease in libido (sex urge)
• Reduced ability to get an erection 

 

The common tests your doctor may perform to help ascertain the relative health of the prostate gland, include digital rectal exams (DRE) and blood tests for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) are often included in routine physical examinations for men over 50. For men with a family history of prostate cancer, it is recommended that tests be started at age 40.

The prostate gland produces a substance called PSA, or prostate specific antigen. A small amount of PSA can be found in blood, but it is mostly present in semen. A blood test is done to measure the amount of PSA, the level of which is used as an indicator of risk for prostate cancer.

Whilst a PSA test helps the doctor access the overall health of the prostate, it is not definitive and several factors are not associated to cancer or even to prostate problems at all, can also elevate blood PSA levels. These include:

• Ejaculation raises PSA levels (so no ejaculation at least two days prior to the test)
• PSA levels can naturally increase with age
• Higher than “normal” PSA levels can be caused by non cancerous enlargement of the prostate (BPH)
• Higher than “normal” PSA levels can be caused by inflammation of the prostate gland

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)

This condition, which is a growth of non-cancerous cells within the transition section of the prostate, causes an enlargement of the gland and exerts pressure on the urethra which, in turn, leads to difficulties in urinating.

About half of all men will suffer enlargement of the prostate by the time they reach the age of 60 and, by the age of 80, about ninety percent of the male population will experience an enlarged prostate.

Symptoms of prostate enlargement include the need to urinate frequently, having the feeling that the bladder does not empty completely and/or urine dribbling after you have finished peeing.

Although prostate enlargement is very common, in many men it may not be problem enough to require any treatment. There are many nutritional and herbal supplements available from health stores and many pharmacies which support prostate function and normal healthy prostate growth.

These supplements may help resolve some of the less serious, but very pesky symptoms associated with BPH including the need for frequent trips to the bathroom at night and the post void dribbling.

Come back to read more about benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and naturally healthy prostate support soon.

Prostatitis

The term prostatitis refers, in its strictest sense, to microscopic inflammation of the tissue of the prostate gland, although it is loosely (and confusingly) used to describe several completely different conditions including:

• Acute prostatitis is a serious bacterial infection of the prostate gland. Men with this disease often have chills, fever, pain in the lower back and genital area, urinary frequency and urgency often at night, burning or painful urination, body aches and a demonstrable infection of the urinary tract, as evidenced by white blood cells and bacteria in the urine. Acute prostatitis may be a complication of prostate biopsy or surgery. This infection is a situation requiring immediate expert medical attention.
• Chronic bacterial prostatitis is a relatively rare condition that usually presents as intermittent urinary tract infections.
• Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS), accounting for 90%-95% of prostatitis diagnoses, is also known as chronic nonbacterial prostatitis. Men in this category have no known infection, but do have extensive pelvic pain lasting more than 3 months. There are no standard diagnostic tests; diagnosis is by exclusion of other disease entities. Therapies administered by doctors are hit and miss at best.
• Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis patients have no history of genitourinary pain complaints, but leukocytosis (increased immune white blood cells in the blood) is noted, usually during evaluation for other conditions. Between 6-19% of men have pus (dead white blood cells) in their semen but no symptoms.

The causes of prostatitis are not clearly understood. Bacterial infections account for approximately 5% of cases. It is thought that certain bacteria can laying deep in the prostate, or autoimmune factors can contribute to chronic and asymptomatic prostatitis. It is also thought by some that too much sex (yes, there is such a thing as too much, especially as you get older), sexual abstinence or sitting too long can have significant influence on the health of the prostate and is considered a common cause of non-bacterial forms of prostatitis.

Come back and read more about prostatitis and naturally healthy prostate support soon.

Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer tends to develop in men over the age of fifty and although it is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in men, many never have symptoms, undergo no therapy, and do not die from the condition. This is because cancer of the prostate is, in most cases, slow-growing, symptom-free, and since men with the condition are older they often die of causes unrelated to the prostate cancer, such as heart/circulatory disease, pneumonia, other unconnected cancers, or old age. There is ongoing debate about the risk versus benefits of treatments such as surgery or chemo and radiotherapy. These treatments have a very high risk of causing more problems than they solve.

Prostate cancer detection is usually by routine prostate examination and Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) Blood Test. As discussed above, the accuracy and therefore the value of this test is also a subject of controversy and debate.

Read more about prostate cancer and naturally healthy prostate support here.