Patients taking terazosin (Hytrin), an alpha-blocker used to treat enlarged prostates, a condition also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.
Man With Parkinson’s
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Parkinson’s disease is a disabling condition that affects millions of people worldwide who are urgently in need of new treatment options.
“Terazosin and similar drugs have recently been found to reduce the development of Parkinson’s disease in animal models.” This is according to researchers from China, Denmark, and the University of Iowa. But does this drug, used to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, also work in humans? To find out, these researchers conducted a study published in the journal JAMA Neurology.
A 12 to 37 percent reduction in risk
To conduct the study, the researchers analyzed American and Danish health records, in which 300,000 elderly men were recorded. Of these, they identified 147,248 people who had recently taken terazosin and compared this information with data on Parkinson’s disease (prevalence, incidence, symptoms). The researchers also identified 152,752 patients who had taken tamsulosin, another treatment commonly used for prostate enlargement.
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The researchers found that taking “terazosin (which improves cellular energy production) was associated with a 12 to 37 percent decrease in the risk of Parkinson’s disease.” “These data suggest that terazosin users have a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease” than those who took tamsulosin, the study authors concluded.
References
Simmering, J. E., Welsh, M. J., Liu, L., Narayanan, N. S., & Pottegård, A. (2021). Association of glycolysis-enhancing α-1 blockers with risk of developing Parkinson disease. JAMA Neurology, 78(4), 407–413. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaneurol.2020.5157
