A recent study reveals that prostate medicines may lessen the incidence of certain types of dementia. A study published on June 19 in the journal Neurology found that taking medicines to address urinary symptoms caused by an enlarged prostate reduced the risk of developing Lewy body dementia.
“These results are exciting because there are currently no drugs to prevent or treat dementia with Lewy bodies. It is the second most common neurodegenerative type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease,” said researcher Jacob Simmering, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa.
If we can show that an existing medicine can protect against this terrible disease, it has the potential to significantly minimize its consequences,” Simmering said in a journal news release.
According to the National Institute on Aging, about 1 million persons in the United States suffer from Lewy body dementia. The protein alpha-synuclein causes aberrant deposits known as Lewy bodies, which alter brain chemistry.
According to the NIA, this type of dementia can cause problems with memory, as well as movement and visual hallucinations. More than 80% of persons with Lewy body dementia perceive things that aren’t there.
This study focused on the medications terazosin, doxazosin, and alfuzosin, which help men urinate more easily with an enlarged prostate. These medications help to relax muscles in the prostate and bladder.
However, the three medications activate an enzyme necessary for energy production in brain cells, and earlier studies have found a link between these pharmaceuticals and Parkinson’s disease, according to researchers. Lewy body dementia is comparable to Parkinson’s disease, so researchers decided to test if the medications could aid these individuals as well.
Researchers examined data from over 126,000 men on one of the three treatments and compared it to more than 517,000 men taking two other forms of prostate medication that do not stimulate the enzyme. The results suggest that men who took one of the three medicines were around 40% less likely to acquire Lewy body dementia than those who took the other two.
“More research is needed to follow people over time and determine whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship here, but it is promising to think that these drugs could have a protective effect on this disease that will likely affect a larger number of people as the population ages,” says Simmering.
Researchers warned that the findings may not apply to women because only men participated in the study. According to the NIA, men are somewhat more likely than women to form Lewy body dementia. Furthermore, Lewy body dementia is difficult to identify, so it’s likely that the researchers missed everyone who had the brain condition.
