Prostate drug can slow Parkinson's disease

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A drug used to treat prostate hypertrophy could be a powerful drug against Parkinson's disease, according to an international team of scientists.

Terazosin helps relieve benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) by relaxing the muscles of the bladder and prostate.

But researchers believe that it has another beneficial action on brain cells damaged by Parkinson's disease.

They say the drug could slow the progression of Parkinson's – which is not possible now.

Cell death

They have studied thousands of patients with BPH and Parkinson's.

Their findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, suggest that the alpha-blocking drug protects brain cells from destruction.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive brain disease for which there is currently no cure.

Existing treatments for Parkinson's can reduce some of the symptoms, but can not slow down or reverse the loss of neurons that occur with the disease.

Terazosin may help by activating an enzyme called PGK1 to prevent this brain cell death, said researchers from the University of Iowa in the United States and Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders in China.

Clinical tests

When they tested the drug in rodents, it seemed to slow down or stop the loss of nerve cells.

To begin to assess whether the drug could have the same effect in humans, they consulted the medical records of millions of US patients to identify men with BPH and Parkinson's.

They studied 2,880 Parkinson's patients taking terazosin or similar drugs that target PGK1 and a control group of 15,409 patients with Parkinson's disease taking a different treatment for BPH without action on PGK1.

Patients taking drugs targeting PGK1 appeared to have better outcomes in terms of symptoms and progression of Parkinson's disease, which the researchers believe would warrant more studies in clinical trials, which they plan to start this year.

& # 39; Zone exciting & # 39;

According to Dr. Michael Welsh, principal investigator, although it is premature to talk about curative treatment, the results of this study could potentially change the lives of people with Parkinson's disease.

"Today, we have no treatment that changes the course of this progressive neurodegenerative disease," she says.

"It's a terrible state, because with the aging of our population, Parkinson's disease will become more and more commonplace.

"It is therefore an exciting field of research."

& # 39; Modification of the disease & # 39;

Since terazosin has a proven track record in the treatment of BPH, it should be feasible if clinical trials are going well.

The trials, which will take a few years, will compare the drug to a placebo to ensure its safety and effectiveness in treating Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Nandakumar Narayanan, co-researcher, who treats patients with Parkinson's disease, said, "We need these randomized controlled trials to prove that these drugs actually modify the disease.

"If they are, it would be a good thing."

Professor David Dexter of Parkinson UK said: "These remarkable results show that terazosin may have a hidden potential to slow the progression of Parkinson's disease, which is essential to help people live well longer.

"Although it's still young, animal models and studies of people already taking the drug are showing promising signs that need to be deepened."