Enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia–BPH) leads to appearance of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS); difficulty in controlling the flow of urine, weak urine stream, frequent or urgent urination (including during the middle of the night). This condition requires medical treatment. If not treated, there is a risk of complete blockage of urinary flow (acute urinary retention). The eliminations of (LUTS) symptoms lead to an improvement of the quality of life
Alpha blockers are the most effective, the cheapest, and the best shown of all the drugs for relieving LUTS. Alfuzosin and Doxazosin belong to a class of drugs known as alpha blockers.
Alpha blockers will not shrink the prostate, they are relaxing the muscles in the prostate and the bladder. This helps in relieving symptoms of BPH and these drugs can lower blood pressure as well. Alfuzosin and Doxazosin have similar efficiency in treatment of lower urinary tract symptoms, but they differ in their potential to lower blood pressure. Doxazosin may cause a sudden drop in blood pressure, which could lead to dizziness or fainting, usually when you first start taking it. To reduce the risk of dizziness and lightheadedness, get up slowly when rising from a sitting or lying position. While using Doxazosin is necessary to adjust a daily dose of this medicine in order to avoid side effects.
Many researches consider alfuzosin to be a superior α-blocker currently available for treating BPH because it achieves clinically significant improvements in LUTS without the requirement for dose titration. It also has minimal effects on dizziness, asthenia and it has the lowest propensity to cause side effects.
The advantage of Alfuzosin over Doxazosin is also in lowering incidence of ejaculatory dysfunction. Without a doubt, minimizing the effect on ejaculatory dysfunction represents a step forward in the development of α-blockers.
All of the α-blockers evaluated for the treatment of symptomatic BPH have comparable effectiveness. Over the past 30 years, the evolution of α-blocker therapy for BPH has focused primarily on improving convenience and tolerability.