Urinary Frequency

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Saw Palmetto Extract [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present. Palmetto extract may cause side effects, though these are uncommon. They may include headache, vomiting, dizziness, constipation, diarrhoea, insomnia or fatigue. Long term effects have not yet been researched.

Recommendation: No recommendation (There is insufficient evidence to support claims that saw palmetto helps to treat urinary frequency. More research is needed.)

Grade of Evidence: very low level of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

Summary References

Treatments:

1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

2. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/saw-palmetto

3. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/palmetto/

4. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-sawpalmetto.html

5. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12137626

6. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16467543

7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18423748

8. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/saw-palmetto/NS_patient-sawpalmetto
 

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