BACKGROUND: Nocturia is defined as waking one or more times during the night due to the urge to void.
Recently, the effectiveness of several sedatives and analgesics for nocturia has been reported. We herein investigated the effects of ramelteon, an antioxidant and sleep inducer, on nocturia unresponsive to alpha1-blocker monotherapy in males with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) as a pilot study.
METHODS: Subjects were 19 patients who had LUTS suggestive of benign prostate hyperplasia, received alpha1-blockers (tamsulosin, silodosin, or naftopidil), and continued to have two or more episodes of nocturia per night before starting ramelteon. Ramelteon at 8 mg once daily for one month was added to the alpha1-blocker. A self-administered questionnaire including the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life (QoL) index, Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), and Nocturia Quality-of-Life Questionnaire (N-QOL) were assessed before and one month after starting ramelteon.
RESULTS: The mean score on IPSS question 7 (nocturia) decreased significantly from 2.88 before starting ramelteon to 2.41 one month after starting the medication (P = 0.03). The mean total OABSS decreased significantly from 6.31 to 5.38 (P = 0.03), and the mean for OABSS question 2 (nighttime frequency of nocturia) also significantly decreased from 2.63 to 2.13 (P = 0.01). The mean total N-QOL score did not change significantly. Two patients had dizziness; the remaining patients had no adverse drug-related events.
CONCLUSIONS: Ramelteon in combination with an alpha1-blocker might be a treatment option for reducing nocturia in men with BPH.
Written by:
Kawahara T, Morita S, Ito H, Terao H, Sakata R, Ishiguro H, Tanaka K, Miyamoto H, Matsuzaki J, Kubota Y, Uemura H. Are you the author?
Reference: BMC Urol. 2013 Jun 12;13(1):30. Epub ahead of print.
doi: 10.1186/1471-2490-13-30
PubMed Abstract
PMID: 23758651
