Prostate drug associated with lower risk of Parkinson's disease

Importantly, the researchers had a good control group for this earlier database study. Tamsulosin is another drug commonly used to treat enlarged prostate, but unlike terazosin, tamsulosin has no effect on cellular energy production, which the team's lab studies suggest is important in terazosin's protective effect.

The new study extends these findings to investigate whether terazosin, and related drugs that can also enhance cellular energy production, are associated with a reduced risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

Using the U.S. and Danish databases, the team identified 150,000 men newly started on terazosin or similar medications and matched them, based on age and clinical history to 150,000 men newly started on tamsulosin.

"We then tracked the health data on these men to determine how many in each group developed Parkinson's disease," explains Jacob Simmering, PhD, UI assistant professor of internal medicine and corresponding author of the study. "Men taking terazosin were 12 to 37% less likely to develop Parkinson's disease during follow-up than men taking tamsulosin."

Additionally, the study found that longer duration of use of the energy-enhancing prostate drugs was associated with increased protective effects.

"Despite the relative differences in population and health care system structure, we found a similar protective effect in both countries," Simmering adds. "The replication of the finding in an international cohort is powerful evidence suggesting a causal effect. If these results are confirmed through further investigation, especially a randomized clinical trial, terazosin may provide neuroprotection and potentially prevent -- and not just manage -- Parkinson's disease."