Unravelling the link between benign prostatic hyperplasia and butyrylcholinesterase

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common disease in men over 50 years of age may be viewed as inflammatory prostatitis whose pathogenesis may be triggered by multiple factors. Butyrylcholinesterase(BChE) levels in plasma has been shown to increase in various diseases like diabetes mellitus, cancer, where inflammatory processes are the key contributing factors. The study aims at unraveling the link between BPH and BChE. Serum albumin, globulins, prostate specific antigen, BChE and other liver enzymes (ALT, AST and ALP) were estimated in 25 healthy men and 25 with BPH. PSA was estimated by ECLIA and all the other parameters spectrophotometrically. PSA was significantly elevated (p=0.00) and BChE showed an apparent increase in BPH patients compared to controls. Further, there was a positive correlation(r=0.813, p=0.000) between BChE and PSA in BPH patients. Serum globulins increased significantly and all other hepatic enzymes remained in the normal range in these patients. Increase in globulins may be secondary to inflammatory response in BPH. It can be concluded that BChE can be considered as an inflammatory marker, though not specific for BPH. Search for biomarkers specific for BPH that could stratify patients at risk and complicated outcomes remains open.