REYKJAVIK, Iceland, July 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
A recent clinical study on an Icelandic natural product has shown it to be effective against "nocturia" in those with low or diminished bladder capacity. Nocturia is the medical definition of the frequent need to urinate at night. This problem is common among men with prostate enlargement as well as people of all ages with an overactive bladder.
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The product, SagaPro, which is made from the herb "Angelica archangelica", has been produced by SagaMedica in Iceland since 2005 and is very popular among nocturia sufferers. SagaPro has now been clinically studied and a peer-reviewed paper on the study will be published in the Scandinavian Journal of Urology and Nephrology.[1]
Increased nocturnal bladder volume
The study was performed in Iceland by Encode Ltd. and the whole process lasted one year. A total of sixty-nine participants, all of them men with "lower urinary tract symptoms", which includes prostate enlargement, were required to keep a detailed record of their nocturnal restroom trips as well as the volume of urine before and after a period of 8 weeks while they took either SagaPro or a placebo.
Findings showed significant results among different subgroups. In that regard, SagaPro had a pronounced effect on bladder volume and urinary frequency, two factors which affect the duration and quality of sleep.
"The findings were interesting in many ways. For instance, we saw that SagaPro had a significant and positive effect on those who had a low or diminished nocturnal bladder capacity. This knowledge will help us design other studies on SagaPro in the future" says Dr. Steinthor Sigurdsson, Ph.D. and a researcher at SagaMedica.
Not just a prostate product
The study sheds a light on how SagaPro can help those with prostate enlargement which affects a majority of men over 60. As SagaPro affects the bladder it indirectly helps men with prostate enlargement whose main complaint tends to be increased urinary frequency. The presence of a bladder-relaxing flavonoid in SagaPro had previously suggested the product worked through a bladder-related mechanism. Successful use by women and young people with enuresis (bed-wetting) also hinted at this and now the clinical study confirms that SagaPro affects the bladder, thereby helping sufferers of frequent urination.
Helps international marketing
SagaPro is currently marketed in over 200 retail outlets in the US and Canada. Perla Bjork Egilsdottir is SagaMedica's marketing manager: "The positive outcome of the clinical study will no doubt help us in further marketing SagaPro internationally. We expect the results to greatly increase our sales since the brand "SagaPro" has now been clinically verified for both safety and efficacy; not just the product's individual ingredients," she says.
Further studies
The clinical study on SagaPro is preceded by SagaMedica's considerable research on the Angelica herb. This is the 6th peer-reviewed paper the company's research team publishes since it was founded in 2000. The paper is entitled: "A parallel, randomised, double blind, placebo controlled study to investigate the effect of SagaPro on nocturia in men". Authors are the MD's Gudmundur Geirsson and Hrefna Gudmundsdottir and the biochemists Steinthor Sigurdsson, Perla B. Egilsdottir and professor Sigmundur Gudbjarnason.
Previous studies published by the company research team looked at the herb's potential benefits ranging from effects on a neurotransmitter to promote memory health to the potential uses of Angelica in the battle against cancer. Clinical studies on those properties are expected to follow in the future.
More information about SagaPro can be found on the company's website: http://www.sagamedica.com
1. DOI NUMBER - 10.3109/00365599.2012.695390 [in press]
SOURCE SagaMedica
