BPH: A Common Part of Aging It is common for the prostate gland
to become enlarged as a man ages. Doctors call the condition
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or benign prostatic
hypertrophy. Normal urine flow. Urine flow with BPH. As a man
matures, the prostate goes through two main periods of growth.
The first occurs early in puberty, when the prostate doubles in
size. At around age 25, the gland begins to grow again. This
second growth phase often results, years later, in BPH. Though
the prostate continues to grow during most of a man's life, the
enlargement doesn't usually cause problems until late in life.
BPH rarely causes symptoms before age 40, but more than half of
men in their sixties and as many as 90 percent in their
seventies and eighties have some symptoms of As the prostate
enlarges, the layer of tissue surrounding it stops it from
expanding, causing the gland to press against the urethra like a
clamp on a garden hose. The bladder wall becomes thicker and
irritable. The bladder begins to cont