Gerber Glenn S
Section of Urology, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC 6038, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Curr Urol Rep. 2002 Aug;3(4):285-91. doi: 10.1007/s11934-002-0050-3.
Phytotherapy has become a more popular treatment option among American men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The most popular herbal agent is saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), which is derived from the berry of the American dwarf palm tree. Pygeum africanum and beta-sitosterol are also used by many patients with BPH, either alone or in combination with saw palmetto. A significant limiting factor to our understanding of the use and effectiveness of phytotherapy is the lack of standardization of these products. Despite this lack of standardization and the variation in results that may be seen with herbal products, there is growing evidence from well-conducted clinical trials that phytotherapeutic agents may lead to subjective and objective symptom improvement beyond a placebo effect in men with BPH. In addition, histologic evidence has been presented demonstrating that saw palmetto causes atrophy and epithelial contraction within the prostate gland. Overall, it is likely that herbal therapy will continue to be used by a growing number of Americans to treat a variety of ailments. Physicians should attempt to remain open-minded regarding alternative approaches and educate themselves so that they may counsel patients in an informed and credible fashion.
植物疗法已成为美国患有良性前列腺增生（BPH）的男性中更受欢迎的治疗选择。最受欢迎的草药制剂是锯叶棕（Serenoa repens），它源自美国矮棕榈树的果实。非洲臀果木和β-谷甾醇也被许多BPH患者单独使用或与锯叶棕联合使用。我们对植物疗法的使用和有效性理解的一个重要限制因素是这些产品缺乏标准化。尽管缺乏标准化且草药产品的结果可能存在差异，但越来越多来自精心设计的临床试验的证据表明，植物治疗剂可能会使BPH男性的主观和客观症状改善超过安慰剂效应。此外，已有组织学证据表明锯叶棕会导致前列腺内萎缩和上皮收缩。总体而言，越来越多的美国人可能会继续使用草药疗法来治疗各种疾病。医生应该对替代方法持开放态度并自我教育，以便能够以明智和可信的方式为患者提供咨询。
