Effects of pollen extract in association with vitamins (DEPROX 500®) for pain relief in patients affected by chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: results from a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: The therapeutic efficacy of CP/CPPS is not very satisfactory and the impact on young male's quality of life is considerable. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the efficacy of pollen extract associated with vitamins (DEPROX 500®) in order to improve the quality of life of young patients affected by chronic prostatitis type IIIb (CP/CPPS) by pain relieving. METHODS: All patients with clinical and instrumental diagnosis of CP/CPPS (class b) underwent DEPROX 500® 2 tablets in a single dose daily for 30 days. Clinical and microbiological analyses were carried out at the enrolment and after 1 month. NIH-CPSI and IPSS questionnaires have been used. The main outcome measure was the improvement of quality of life at the end of the whole study period, evaluated by questionnaires results. RESULTS: 20 men (mean age 32.8 ± 6.78) were enrolled in this pilot study. The baseline questionnaire mean scores were 25.90 ± 2.1 and 8.01 ± 3.64 for NIH-CPSI and IPSS, respectively. At the follow-up examination (1 month after treatment), 18 out of 20 patients (90.0%) reported an improvement of quality of life, in terms of pain reduction. The questionnaire results after 1 month from treatment were as follows: NIH-CPSI 12.8 ± 2.20, IPSS 7.6 ± 1.58. Statistically significant differences were then reported between the two visits, in terms of NIH-CPSI scores (p<0.001). No statistically significant differences have been reported in terms of IPSS between the two groups. All patients were negative at the Meares-Stamey test evaluation. The compliance to the study protocol was 100%. CONCLUSIONS: The pollen extract associated with vitamins (DEPROX 500®) significantly improved total symptoms, pain, and QoL in patients with non-inflammatory CP/CPPS without severe side effects.