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Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common cause of bladder outlet obstruction and voiding symptoms in elderly men. The pathogenesis is not fully determined but a combination of androgens and age are needed for development of BPH. Symptoms of BPH are divided into obstructive and irritative symptoms but large interpersonal variability is found and no specific BPH symptom exists. Treatment modalities include surgery (TURP, TUIP, open prostatectomy, laser ablation, balloon dilatation, hyperthermia and thermotherapy, and urethral stents) and medical therapy. TURP is the gold standard treatment and TUIP is a safe and effective alternative to TURP in patients with smaller prostates. Laser ablation, hyperthermia and thermotherapy, and urethral stents are at the present time under investigation. Balloon dilatation is FDA-approved but not often used because of low efficacy and poor long-term results. Medical treatment includes alpha-blocker or finasteride treatment and is indicated in patients with moderate to severe symptoms of BPH without a strong indication for surgery.

In 110 parkinsonian patients (53 men, 57 woman) aged 38--81 years, computer-tomographic follow-up investigations were done to assess the development of brain atrophy. The control examinations were done after an average of 28 months. At that time an increase in brain atrophic changes of different localization could be observed in 23% of the patients. In addition, it could be demonstrated that the increase in pathologic CT findings is to be observed especially in patients with higher age, a more marked impairment in psycho-organic capacity, more pronounced handicaps in the fine-motorial performances at the beginning of the study. From the neuroradiological point of view, patients with more marked pathologic CT findings upon the first examination, be these ventricular enlargement and/or cortical atrophy, more often showed a progression of brain atrophy.

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