Anti-depression pill from 70 years ago could be used to treat prostate cancer, research shows

An antidepressant from the 1950s could treat prostate cancer and reduce the side effects of other treatments.

The results of a small trial suggest that the drug phenelzine, which treats depression (by changing the levels of chemicals in the brain that regulate mood) may shrink tumors in men whose prostate cancer has come back.

Phenelzine has fewer side effects than conventional hormone therapy, which treats cancer by reducing levels of testosterone – the hormone fuels the growth of cancer cells.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in British men, with around 48,500 new cases per year. It claims 11,700 lives per year. Surgery (to remove the prostate) or radiation therapy are the main treatments.

The disease recurs in about 15,000 cases per year, and those affected are usually given hormonal pills or injections to block the production of testosterone.

This is very effective in stopping cancer, but can lead to serious side effects including hot flashes, fatigue, impotence, loss of muscle, and thinning of the bones. Now, research suggests that taking phenelzine alongside hormone therapy reduces these side effects.

Phenelzine is a type of medicine called an MAO inhibitor, which treats depression by blocking an enzyme called monoamine oxidase from breaking down serotonin and dopamine, chemicals in the brain that “feel good”.

MAO inhibitors were the first antidepressants to be introduced 70 years ago, but they are no longer in common use, in part because they can interact with other drugs.

But besides having a role in depression, the enzyme monoamine oxidase is also known to help prostate cancer cells to grow.

Giving phenelzine interrupts the signals that testosterone sends to cancer cells, causing them to grow.

However, unlike hormone therapy, it does not block the production of testosterone and thus avoids its unpleasant side effects.

Researchers at the University of Southern California, United States, gave phenelzine to 20 men whose prostate cancer had come back after surgery, at doses similar to those used to treat depression (60 mg at 90 mg).

Taken twice a day for 12 weeks, the antidepressant reduces levels of prostate specific antigen protein (PSA) in 55% of men (measuring PSA levels allows doctors to follow the progression of prostate cancer) .

PSA levels in five men fell by at least 30 percent and in one they were down 74 percent. Some participants experienced side effects, including dry mouth, fatigue and mild dizziness, reported the journal Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases.

The team says administration of the drug could mean lower doses of hormone therapy are needed, which would reduce severe side effects of a lack of testosterone – or the drug could be used first, cutting down on time. that men go on hormone therapy.

Professor Nicholas James, Prostate and Bladder Cancer Research Team Leader at the Institute of Cancer Research, London, says finding a new use for existing drugs is a quick way to introduce new ones treatments.

“It would be interesting for me as a clinician and for my patients to have treatments that delay the start of their hormone therapy,” he says.

“It certainly deserves further research.

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Tiny electric shock that can relieve pain from squeaky joints

Using tiny needles to “ stun ” nerves may reduce pain in osteoarthritis, according to a new study from Emory University in the United States.

The treatment lasts 30 minutes and uses needles (150mm for the hips and 50mm or 75mm for the shoulders) which are attached to a generator which gives them a low electrical charge.

Researchers tested the technique on 23 people whose “wear and tear” arthritis did not respond to other forms of pain relief.

After spot treatment with the needles, all patients reported that their symptoms were significantly reduced.

The treatment is said to work by slowing pain signals to the brain and could be an alternative to joint replacement surgery.

How a snoring mask can make men more manly

Breathing masks used to treat snoring can also improve a man’s love life.

About 70% of men with obstructive sleep apnea (which causes snoring and disrupts sleep) also suffer from erectile dysfunction, research shows.

Now, a review has found that patients who used continuous positive pressure (CPAP) masks for sleep apnea reported improvement in their erectile dysfunction.

The mask, which pumps pressurized air through the airways to keep them open, is believed to increase levels of nitric oxide, a compound that widens blood vessels, reports The Clinical Respiratory Journal.

Men with erectile dysfunction have low levels of nitric oxide – better blood flow to the tissues helps produce an erection.