When it comes to diseases that can cause men to have frequent urination, urgent urination, and frequent nocturia, the most familiar one is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The English abbreviation for benign prostatic hyperplasia is “BPH”. BPH is a common disease in middle-aged and elderly men. According to epidemiological studies, 23% of men aged 50 have symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia, while this percentage rises to 78% in men aged 60-70. Particularly with the continuous aging of the population in the country, the proportion of middle-aged and elderly men is significantly increasing, leading to a substantial rise in the number of people suffering from benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Before 1980, there were no specific methods for benign prostatic hyperplasia internationally, and primarily surgical treatment was adopted. However, after 1980, as the medical community gradually understood the etiology and pathophysiological changes of benign prostatic hyperplasia, drug treatment made significant progress. Currently, drug therapy has become the first-line treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia. Among all the therapeutic drugs, alpha-1 adrenergic receptor blockers are recommended as the preferred treatment, and doxazosin and tamsulosin are the most common alpha-1 adrenergic receptor blockers.
Although doxazosin and tamsulosin belong to the same class of pharmacological agents, there are still subtle differences in their mechanisms of action.
From the perspective of pharmacological mechanisms, doxazosin and tamsulosin belong to the same class of drugs, both being alpha-1 adrenergic receptor blockers. The alpha-1 adrenergic receptor is a biological molecule that can bind to corresponding neurotransmitters. Since neurotransmitters are chemical substances that transmit information between nerve cells, the binding of the alpha-1 adrenergic receptor to neurotransmitters indicates that by regulating the concentration of alpha-1 adrenergic receptors, it is possible to alter the transmission of nerve information, thereby changing the action of a particular cell (such as muscle contraction or relaxation). As alpha-1 adrenergic receptor blockers, doxazosin and tamsulosin can effectively block the alpha-1 receptors located in the smooth muscles of the urethra, bladder, and prostate, causing relaxation of the muscles in these areas and relieving symptoms such as frequent urination, urgent urination, and nocturia.
Furthermore, beyond treating frequent urination and urgent urination, tamsulosin can also improve sexual function to a certain extent.
Although tamsulosin can mainly block the alpha-1A receptors in the human prostate, effectively and rapidly improving symptoms such as urgent urination, frequent urination, and nocturia, it also has a certain effect on some reproductive urinary system diseases. This is mainly because there are alpha-1A receptors present in the reproductive urinary system. By blocking the alpha-1A receptors in the reproductive urinary system, some reproductive urinary system diseases can be effectively treated. Studies have found that the alpha-1 receptors, mainly alpha-1A receptors, are abundant in tissues such as the corpora cavernosa, prostatic stroma, prostatic capsule, prostatic urethra, seminal vesicles, vas deferens, and epididymis in males.
As for improving symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia such as frequent urination and urgent urination, doxazosin and tamsulosin have similar efficacy, each with its own unique pharmacological characteristics.
Based on domestic and foreign literature reports and meta-analyses, most experimental results regarding the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia with doxazosin and tamsulosin show that both drugs can effectively improve symptoms such as frequent urination, urgent urination, and nocturia, effectively treating benign prostatic hyperplasia. A small number of experimental studies suggest that doxazosin is superior to tamsulosin in improving urine flow scores and stabilizing urethral pressure. However, these studies are influenced by experimental conditions, parameters, and evaluation dimensions, and cannot definitively prove that doxazosin is better than tamsulosin in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia.
Reference:
1. Ma Z et al. “Comparative Study of Doxazosin Controlled Release Tablets and Tamsulosin in the Treatment of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia.”
2. Liu D et al. “Meta-analysis of Efficacy and Safety of Doxazosin Controlled Release Tablets and Tamsulosin in the Treatment of Benign Prostate Hyperplasia.”
3. Xue Z et al. “Doxazosin Gastrointestinal Therapeutic System versus Tamsulosin for the Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: a study in Chinese patients.”
