Urology journal
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Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a chronic pain condition and a common problem in urology clinics. Although many different etiologies and mechanisms exist, the exact cause of the disease has been unknown. Central sensitization (CS) is defined as an augmentation of responsiveness of central cortical neurons to input from peripheral nociceptive structures. Somato-sensory evoked potentials (SEPs) is an electroneurophysiological method to assess cortical activity in somatosensory area of brain related to sensorial stimuli. We aimed to determine the presence of CS using the SEPs of dorsal penile nerve stimulation in patients with CP/CPPS. ⋯ These results support the presence of central sensitization because of exaggerated trans-mission of pain sensation to the somatosensory cortex. Therefore, normalization of transmission might be an important step in treatment of pain in patients with CP/CPPS. This study can be counted as an important guiding on pathogenesis and treatment of disease.