Advances in Rheumatology volume 61 , Article number: 23 Cite this article. Metrics details. Chronic prostatitis has been a common disease reported with high frequency in ankylosing spondylitis AS even from decades ago. Infectious Chlamydia trachomatis or non-infectious uric acid prostatitis can hypothetically trigger vertebral inflammation in AS.
This study aimed to assess the features of chronic prostatitis in patients with AS compared to healthy controls. A cross-sectional study including male patients with AS and healthy controls who agreed to undergo a prostate examination was conducted.
Structured clinical interviews, prostate physical examinations, and cytological, biochemical, and microbiological tests on urinary samples collected before and after standardized prostatic massage pre- and post-massage test were performed. Ninety participants 45 AS patients, mean age: Results of polymerase chain reaction tests for Chlamydia trachomatis were negative in all tested urinary samples, and uric acid concentrations and leukocyte counts were similar in all pre- and post-massage urinary samples.
In this study, chronic prostatitis occurred in male patients with AS, but its frequency and characteristics did not differ from those found in the healthy male population of similar age. Ankylosing spondylitis AS is the most common form of spondyloarthritis, mainly affecting the sacroiliac joints and spine. In severe cases, it can even cause progressive calcification and ankylosis, often in an ascending nature through its longitudinal ligaments.
In addition, extra-articular manifestations may also occur, such as uveitis [ 1 ]. In , Mason et al. However, these results have never been reproduced since then. Chronic prostatitis could not only be a consequence of AS, but also a cause of the disease. It is hypothesized that the spread of pathogen-associated molecular patterns PAMPs or damage-associated molecular patterns DAMPs through the pelvic and vertebral lymphatic vessels from chronic prostate inflammation caused by an infectious Chlamydia trachomatis or non-infectious agent uric acid could induce vertebral inflammation [ 4 ].
