PURPOSE:
The conventional primary
therapy for
chronic bacterial prostatitis (CBP) is the use of
antibiotics. However, the
therapy has a low
cure rate and long-term use of
antibiotics can
lead to
adverse effects including bacterial resistance. For these reasons, a new
therapy for CBP is strongly needed. MATERIALS AND
METHODS:
To evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects of
selenium-rich
hot spring water on CBP,
rats were divided into four groups and
treatment was administered for four weeks as follows (1) control (n=8), (2)
ciprofloxacin (n=8), (3)
selenium-rich
hot spring water (n=8), and (4)
selenium-rich
hot spring water with
ciprofloxacin (n=8).
Drip infusion of bacterial
suspension (E. coli Z17 O2K1;H-) into Spargue-Dowley
rats was then conducted to induce CBP. Four weeks later, the results of
prostate tissue and
urine culture and histological
analysis on the
prostate were analyzed in each group.
RESULTS:
The use of
ciprofloxacin, and
selenium-rich
hot spring water with
ciprofloxacin showed statistically significant decreases in
bacterial growth and improvements in prostatic
inflammation compared with the
control group (p<0.05). The
selenium-rich
hot spring water with
ciprofloxacin group showed a statistically significantly lower rate of
bacterial growth and and greater improvements in prostatic
inflammation than the
ciprofloxacin group (p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS:
These results suggest that spring
water may be an effective material in the
treatment of CBP. Notably, the combination
treatment of
selenium-rich
hot spring water and
ciprofloxacin has synergistic effects. Therefore, we can suggest that the combination of
selenium-rich
hot spring water and
ciprofloxacin may be effective in the
treatment of CBP, and with a higher success rate than
ciprofloxacin alone.