Male accessory gland infection: standardization of inflammatory parameters including cytokines.

Assessment of infection of the male accessory glands is usually based on the search for white blood cells in different specimens to document an inflammatory reaction. This widely used practice allows to establish the diagnosis of inflammation in many cases. However, clinical symptoms do not always correlate with the presence or absence of white blood cells. This is particularly true for chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome. In the last few years different research efforts have been made to look for markers of inflammation other than elements of the white blood cell line. Several studies suggest that humoral rather than cellular parameters are involved in male accessory gland infections. Substances such as reactive oxygen species, nerve growth factor and cytokines seem to be important not only in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory reaction but may also serve as diagnostic markers to indicate the presence of inflammation.