001). RDW was significantly associated with prostate volume in multivariate linear regression model that was adjusted for age and hemoglobin. IPSS was significantly ABT-263 mouse correlated with RDW, CRP and ESR. However significance was lost after adjustment for age and prostate volume. The RDW was significantly associated with the surgical treatment in the multivariate linear regression model that was adjusted for age and prostate volume. A correlation between an increased RDW and prostate volume was suggested by the new data from this study. This relation may be a consequence of inflammatory stress arising

from BPH. The significant association between the easy, inexpensive RDW may provide a rational basis to include the RDW in KU-60019 purchase algorithms for surgery risk prediction. Circulating blood cells, including erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets, are counted and sized electronically by

modern instruments. The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is an automatically measured index of the heterogeneity of the erythrocyte volume and is routinely reported as a part of the complete blood count (CBC). Higher RDW values indicate greater heterogeneity in the size of the circulating erythrocytes. The RDW is used in the differential diagnosis of anemia, for example, an elevated RDW with a low mean corpuscular volume (MCV) indicates an iron deficiency, whereas a normal RDW with a low MCV is indicative of thalassemia.[1] The RDW is starting to be used for internal medicine and cardiology, as well as for hematology. It has been reported to be a strong and independent predictor of morbidity and mortality in middle aged and older adults.[2, 3] An increased RDW is also believed to be closely associated with the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in patients

with a prior myocardial infarction, patients with heart failure, and patients referred for a coronary angiography.[4-7] It is hypothesized that higher RDW levels may reflect an underlying chronic inflammation, which would result in an Cell Penetrating Peptide increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Inflammation has been shown to influence the RDW.[8, 9] In histological examinations of BPH almost all specimens show inflammatory infiltrates.[10, 11] Large numbers of cytokines and their receptors are seen in BPH tissue.[12-14] Inflammation exists as a promoter or a result in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). The purpose of this study was to identify the RDW status in patients with prostate enlargement and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The overall study population consisted of 942 men with LUTS, ranging in age from 60 to 85 years old. The protocol of this study was reviewed and approved by the local ethics and research committee. The patients’ medical histories were obtained, and physical examinations, including digital rectal examinations, prostate specific antigen (PSA), creatinine, alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), glucose and urinalysis were performed.