Current medical therapies for men with lower urinary tract symptoms and benign prostatic hyperplasia: achievements and limitations.

Over the last 20 years, our understanding of the pathophysiology and symptomatology of men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) has become increasingly more sophisticated. With this increase in sophistication, our utilization of various medical therapies, either alone or in combination, has also increased the understanding of the roles of individual medications, combinations of medications, and the benefits of different types of intervention. The rapid decline of the use of transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) and other surgical procedures for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in the 1990s is due in part to the introduction of medical therapy. This article reviews the current state of medical therapy for men with LUTS and highlights its promises and its current limitations.