INCONTINENCE: Detecting a Problem
Can a new blood test more effectively detect enlarged-prostate disease?
BY:MYRA DEMBROW
An experimental blood test still awaiting U.S. government approval has been effective in spotting enlarged-prostate disease before it damages the bladder or urinary tract.Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) causes urgent and frequent urination, especially in its severest form. Untreated, this type of BPH can cause bladder-related complications. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that high levels of a specific protein were associated with severe BPH and developed a blood test to detect the protein, which is made by the JM-27 gene. This process correctly identified severe BPH in 90 percent of the tested patients.
"Our experiments show that the expression of this marker is related to the presence of the severe form of BPH and not to the size of the prostate or to the presence or risk of prostate cancer," says Robert Getzenberg, PhD, director of research of the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute. Dr. Getzenberg was the leader of the team whose research on this blood test was published in the February 2007 edition of the Journal of Urology.