Silodosin for the treatment of nocturia associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia

This study investigated the effects of silodosin (Rapaflo) on nocturia in men with BPH. The study concluded that silodosin treatment was associated with an improvement in nocturia in these patients.

Men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) often experience bothersome urinary symptoms such as nocturia. However, most drugs prescribed for the treatment of BPH have shown little benefit in relieving nocturia. Silodosin is a type of “alpha-blocker” drug used to reduce urinary symptoms in BPH patients. The effect of silodosin on nocturia is not yet clear.

This study investigated the effects of silodosin on nocturia in patients with BPH. This study included data from three clinical trials, including 1,479 men. In these studies, patients received either silodosin (8 mg) or placebo (substance with no active effect) for 12 weeks.

53.4% of men treated with silodosin showed improvement of nocturia compared to 42.8% of placebo patients. 9% of patients experienced worsening symptoms when taking silodosin compared to 14.3% of placebo. The frequency of nighttime urinations was reduced significantly with silodosin treatment (by 29.3%) compared to placebo (19%).

This study concluded that silodosin treatment was associated with an improvement in nocturia among men with BPH.

Patients were not evaluated to determine if nocturia could be caused by nocturnal polyuria (disrupted nighttime urine production). This is important to fully understand the ways in which silodosin works to treat nocturia.