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This month I would like to discuss the prostate gland: that unsung hero of reproduction and the bane of middle‐aged and older men. Most men don't even know they have one until something goes wrong ‐ in younger men it is usually prostatitis, and in older men benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) or cancer. This is a large subject for a small newsletter, but one that should not be avoided, as neural therapy can be very helpful in these hard-to-treat conditions. "Prostatitis" is poorly understood. Although inflammation is clearly present in many cases, the cause is not always easy to find, and some cases may actually be pain syndromes related to pelvic floor muscle imbalance. For an excellent review of the causes of "prostatitis" see:http://www.prostatitis.org/causes.html. Conventional treatment is hit-and-miss, perhaps because diagnosis is often unclear. But even in those cases where bacterial infection is identified, antibiotics are frequently ineffective. This should not come as a surprise as chronic infections in other parts of the body, e.g. abcesses or dental infections often cannot be reached by antibiotics. Benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) and prostate cancer can occur separately but probably more commonly exist together, whether the cancer is identified or not. 50% of men in their sixties have symptoms of BPH (urinary frequency, urgency, dribbling or retention) and 60% have cancer cells in their prostates (as found in autopsies for unrelated reasons). The vast majority of these cancers are asymptomatic and never create problems. The causes of both conditions are complex and probably multifactorial in most cases. Hormones are important. (For example BPH does not develop in eunuchs.) Both dihydroxytestosterone (DHT, a metabolite of testosterone) and estradiol are believed to promote BPH and prostate cancer. However the interrelationships of these and other hormones are complex. Reducing DHT levels with 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors such as Proscar or saw palmetto is a common goal of treatment, but some authorities believe that DHT can actually increase estradiol levels by shunting testosterone metabolism from DHT towards estradiol. Hormonal balance is important, but toxins accumulating in the prostate are believed to also contribute to BPH and cancer. Pesticides, toxic metals (especially cadmium) and certain organic solvents have all been associated with prostate cancer. In my experience, autonomic response testing often detects these toxins in association with interference fields in the pelvic plexus or prostate. Whatever the cause, if interference fields are detected, neural therapy is often, (but not always) effective. In my experience treatment must be repeated frequently, taking months, and sometimes years for resolution. Neural therapy's beneficial effect is probably related to opening up circulation to the prostate ‐ thereby improving its nutrition and excretion of wastes. In most cases, interference fields are found in one or both pelvic plexuses (Frankenhauser plexuses), but sometimes only in the prostate itself. Treatment of pelvic plexus interference fields by injection is outlined on page 190 of my book. An alternative method is to use the Tenscam device.) The prostate can be injected directly through the perineum. This is technically easy and safe; the technique is described on page 133 of Mathias Dosch's book: Illustrated atlas of the techniques of neural therapy with local anesthetics. Homeopathics can be injected with the procaine, or alternatively the Tenscam can be used passing its scalar energy through an appropriate vial of homeopathic. Autonomic response testing should be used to guide the choice of homeopathic. A brief note about cancers: The Dosch Manual of Neural Therapy According to Huneke takes pains to say: "Cancer is not curable by neural therapy alone". There is some wisdom in stating this at the outset, given the emotional connotations of the word cancer, and the sometimes desperate hope of its victims for a magical cure. Because many patients are unfamiliar with neural therapy, it is probably best to understate its role in treating cancer. However if we think of cancer to be (at least in part) a localized failure of immune function, neural therapy can play a role in optimizing the body's physiology in the region of the cancer. Dosch's textbook has an interesting discussion (pp. 148‐150 in the most recent edition) of the theoretical basis for using neural therapy in treating cancer. I remember one man in his late 50's with a Gleason 7 prostate cancer and a toxic prostate from many years exposure to xylene in a fiberglass factory, who responded well to neural therapy and an organic solvent detoxification protocol. Twelve years later he is alive and healthy. Sincerely, Robert F. Kidd, MD, CM |