New strategies in treating male lower urinary tract symptoms.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Improved understanding of the pathogenesis of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) has led to the development of new drugs to treat male LUTS. The review aims to give an overview to the new drugs and to compounds in the pipeline.

RECENT FINDINGS: Tadalafil, a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor, is a drug newly approved for the treatment of male LUTS and a true new challenger for the current standard treatment with alpha1 blockers, particularly in men with concomitant erectile dysfunction. Botulinum toxin and mirabegron, a beta3 agonist, might be of value in treating persistent storage LUTS. Intraprostatic injections with botulinum toxin, NX-1207, and PRX302, need further evaluation but might be treatment alternatives in the future. Similarly, vitamin D3 receptor analogues (e.g., elocalcitol), gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonists (e.g., cetorelix), and modulators of the cannabinoid system (e.g., fatty acid amide hydrolase inhibitors) need further evaluation in clinical studies. Other compounds, such as transient receptor potential vanilloid antagonists, Rho kinase inhibitors, purinergic receptor blockers, and endothelin targeting drugs, are still at experimental stages.

SUMMARY: Novel drugs for the treatment of male LUTS have been introduced recently. Clinical practice along with further trials will have to prove their value, along with other compounds that are still in their early phase of development.