PROSTATITIS DESCRIPTION

A few men with prostatitis have clear signs of a bacterial infection of the prostate. Doctors call this condition bacterial prostatitis. Symptoms may come on suddenly (acute bacterial prostatitis) or develop gradually (chronic bacterial prostatitis). Either way, these patients are the exception to the rule. Their doctors can point to a specific cause of the trouble and plan a specific course of action.

In roughly 90 to 95 percent of cases of prostatitis, however, there's no clear sign of infection. Doctors call this chronic nonbacterial prostatitis or chronic pelvic pain syndrome. Nobody knows what causes this condition. Some researchers blame "hidden" infections that don't show up in normal tests. Others believe it could be an autoimmune disorder, a condition in which immune system cells attack healthy tissues. Still others trace the symptoms to overly tense pelvic muscles. Most experts agree that there's probably more than one cause.

For patients without acute infections, prostatitis is not a major health threat. It doesn't raise the risk of cancer or any other serious disease. With very few exceptions, prostatitis also poses no risk to sexual partners. (Rarely, men with prostatitis have acute infections of bacteria such as Chlamydia that can be sexually transmitted.)