Nerve growth factor and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Objectives: To investigate whether the pain experienced by patients with chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) may be related to the expression of nerve growth factor (NGF), induced by inflammation and tissue injury experienced as a result of chronic inflammation. CPPS is a disease of unknown pathogenesis.

Methods: We measured the levels of NGF and the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 and compared these with the levels of IL-8, interferon-gamma, IL-2, and IL-10 in the seminal plasma of 31 patients with CPPS and 14 controls using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay technology. Results were correlated with health-related quality of life as measured by the multidimensional pain inventory, the McGill pain questionnaire, and the International Prostate Symptom Score.

Results: The cytokines analyzed were detectable in the seminal plasma from the patients with CPPS and controls. NGF correlated directly with pain severity (P <0.01) and IL-10 levels (P <0.04), and IL-6 correlated inversely with pain severity (P <0.03).

Conclusions: These results suggest that NGF and cytokines that regulate inflammation (IL-6 and IL-10) may play a role in the pain symptoms experienced by patients with CPPS.