Pharmacologic agents in complementary medicine in prostatic disease

The use of alternative medicine has increased considerably in the last 10 y ears. Some of the reasons for this trend include limited efficacy of existi ng treatments, perceived reduction in side effects with alternative treatme nts, patient's desire to maintain control over their treatment and a desire for a more "natural" treatment. The very high frequency of urologic diseas es such as benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer makes these dis eaes natural targets of alternative medicine. Although a great number of th erapeutic agents have been recommended for urologic diseases, this review e xamines the most promising for their use in benign prostatic hyperplasia an d prostate cancer. (C) 2001 Prous Science. All rights reserved.