CORRELATION BETWEEN DETRUSOR COLLAGEN CONTENT AND URINARY SYMPTOMS IN PATIENTS WITH PROSTATIC OBSTRUCTION

ABSTRACTPurpose: We used computerized imaging analysis to compare the collagen content of detrusor specimens between patients affected with symptomatic obstructive benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and asymptomatic controls.Materials and Methods: In our study we enrolled 36 patients with symptomatic urodynamically obstructed BPH undergoing transurethral resection of the prostate. We also enrolled 28 men (mean age 61.3, range 55 to 70) undergoing transurethral resection of the bladder for primitive, singular Ta bladder cancer, with no significant urinary symptoms, as the control group. During the transurethral surgical procedure in controls and in patients with BPH, a biopsy was performed deep through the muscular layer from either of the lateral bladder walls. Computerized morphometric analysis of the stained sections was performed with an image analysis system, and a percentage of collagen fibers was extracted through morphological filtering and expressed as a mean percentage of the total bioptic area.R...