Long-term drug treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia - results of a prospective 3-year multicenter study using Sabal extract IDS 89.

A 3-year prospective multicenter study on Sabal extract IDS 89 was carried out to evaluate its potential and limitations as phytotherapy in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The results obtained from 435 patients confirm its sustained therapeutic efficacy. A marked symptomatic improvement, that included a 50% reduction in residual urine and a 6.1 ml/sec increase in peak urinary flow rate due to therapy was observed. Both physicians and patients voted its efficacy as good or very good in over 80% of the cases, and the drug was well tolerated by 98% of the patients. The clinical status of BPH and thus the quality of life of 4 out of 5 patients was markedly improved by long-term IDS 89 therapy. Furthermore, the deterioration rate at the end of the 3-year treatment period was significantly lower than in untreated BPH subjects. It is therefore concluded that long-term IDS 89 therapy can also reduce the incidence of surgery.