By Stephen Beech via SWNS Prostate drugs may reduce the risk of a common form of dementia, according to a new study. Researchers found that some medicines used to treat urinary symptoms due to an enlarged prostate seemed to lower the danger of dementia with Lewy bodies for which there are currently no specific drugs. Dementia with Lewy bodies, or DLB, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that can cause memory and thinking problems, movement issues and even hallucinations.
American scientists who conducted the study, published in the journal Neurology , cautioned that their findings do not prove that the drugs reduce the risk of dementia with Lewy bodies; they only show an association. Study author Dr. Jacob Simmering said: "These results are exciting because right now there are no drugs to prevent or treat dementia with Lewy bodies, which is the second most common neurodegenerative type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease.
“If we can determine that an existing drug can offer protection against this debilitating disease, that has the potential to greatly reduce its effects.” The research involved male participants taking different types of drugs to treat urinary problems caused by an enlarged prostate, a common problem for older men. The drugs terazosin, doxazosin and alfuzosin could block brain cell death by activating an enzyme important for energy production in brain cells.
Previous research has shown an association between those drugs and Parkinson’s disea.