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Background Despite a worldwide common and progressive nature of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) in older men, no association has been observed between a causative pathogen and other etiology so far. Methods In this study, we investigated a causative association of Trichomonas vaginalis, a flagellate protozoan parasite, in 171 BPH cases presenting without symptoms of prostatitis at a surgical outpatient clinic in Kuwait. We detected T. vaginalis DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and T. vaginalis antigen by immunocytochemistry (ICC) in the prostate tissue of these cases. A total of 171 age-matched controls with no urinary tract symptoms were also included in the study. A detailed information regarding the sexual history and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) was enquired from all the enrolled subjects. Results We detected T. vaginalis DNA and T. vaginalis antigen in 42 (24.6 %) and 37 (21.6 %) of the 171 BPH cases respectively in their prostate tissue. Both these assays showed a very good agreement and statistically no significant difference in their sensitivities and specificities. A relatively higher seropositivity rate for antibodies to T. vaginalis was detected in BPH cases (53 of 171 cases, 31.0 %) than in the control group (26.9 %) [p: 0.19] and both were higher than in earlier reports but no significant association was observed between BPH and T. vaginalis serostatus. However, a greater proportion of seroreactive BPH cases had high IgG2 antibody absorbance score than in the control group (p:0.000). Furthermore, no significant association was observed between T. vaginalis seropositivity and presence of T. vaginalis DNA in the prostate tissue. Conclusions Our study documents T. vaginalis DNA and T. vaginalis antigen in 24.6 and 21.6 % respectively in the prostate tissue of the BPH cases. We also detected a relatively higher seropositivity rate for antibodies to T. vaginalis both in the BPH cases and in normal control group, 31 and 26.9 % respectively but no significant association was observed between BPH and T. vaginalis serostatus or presence of T. vaginalis DNA in the prostate tissue. Further epidemiological and case-controlled studies are needed to focus on local response to chronic asymptomatic retention of T. vaginalis in prostate tissue in the development of benign prostate hyperplasia. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-016-1843-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background: In most cases, prostatitis can be caused by a bacterial agent such as Ureaplasma urealyticum. Considering to the cumbersome of the culture method for the detection of Ureaplasma species in clinical samples such as prostate; PCR method that is faster and more appropriate than the cultivation methods, can be utilized for the detection of U. urealyticum and U. parvum. PCR-RFLP method can differentiate both biovars and assist in studies of the clinical diagnosis, epidemiology and pathology of this species in human. The aim of this study was to molecular detection of U. urealyticumin in prostate tissue samples based on PCR- RFLP. Methods:Two hundred prostate tissue samples were collected from patient suffering from prostatitis. The PCR assay was used to amplify a 559 bp fragment of 16S-23SRNA interspace region of Ureaplasma. After sequencing, PCR products from positive samples were digested with TaqI restriction enzyme. Results: Seven cases (3.5%) out of 200 prostate tissue samples were positive for U. urealyticum. Results of PCR products sequencing demonstrated that all isolates were U. parvum biovar. PCR-RFLP results shown that there was not any differentiation in pattern of enzymatic digestion, in addition, all isolates were U. parvum, serovar 3. Conclusion: U. urealyticum can be one of the causing agents of prostatitis. Using PCR-RFLP with specific primer and restriction enzyme is a rapid and cost-effect method for detection and differentiation of Ureaplasma from clinical samples.