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Low Cholesterol leader to Lower PSA

Newswise — ORLANDO, FL, May 21, 2008 – Managing your cholesterol may also help you manage your prostate- specific antigen (PSA) level.

Data presented today at the 103rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association explored the relationship between low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and PSA prior to beginning statin therapy.

Data collected from a study of 1,214 men prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs (statins) between 1990 and 2006 at the Durham Veteran Affairs Medical Center in North Carolina shows that PSA levels were reduced after starting statin medications and that this decline was proportional to the decline in LDL cholesterol.

In 2007, a retrospective study showed that men taking statins to lower their cholesterol also experienced a proportional decline in their PSA levels.

This new study confirms that evidence and highlights the fact that cholesterol may play a role in prostate cancer development and progression.

Data was collected from men who were free of prostate cancer, had not undergone prostate surgery or taken medicine to alter androgen levels, and whose PSA was between 0.1 and 10.0 ng/ml.

The outcome of this study, if confirmed by additional research, could provide further evidence for the role cholesterol plays in prostate biology.

The results of this study indicate that cholesterol and PSA are valuable indicators of overall health for men and should continue to be monitored together.

It remains to be seen whether or not lowering your PSA through statin medications could potentially mask the presence of prostate disease.

About the American Urological Association

Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is the pre-eminent professional organization for urologists, with more than 15,000 members throughout the world.

An educational nonprofit organization, the AUA pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care by carrying out a wide variety of programs for members and their patients, including UrologyHealth.org, an award-winning on-line patient education resource, and the American Urological Association Foundation, Inc.