Dementia with Lewy bodies — also known as Lewy body dementia — is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia affecting older adults, accounting for between 15–20%Trusted Source of all dementia cases.
Dementia with Lewy bodies is most likely caused by deposits of a protein called alpha-synucleinTrusted Source in the brain. There is currently no cure for dementia with Lewy bodies, though some medications, physical therapy, and other interventions are available to help manage the disease’s symptoms. “Right now, we [only] have therapies for symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases like dementia with Lewy bodies,” explained Jacob E. Simmering, PhD, assistant professor of internal medicine — pulmonary, critical care, and occupational medicine at the University of Iowa, and lead author of a new study recently published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
“They can help reduce the severity of the symptoms but can’t stop the disease from progressing,“ he explained. “This is similar to how taking a Tylenol can help with the pain associated with an injury but doesn’t cause the injury to heal any faster.“ “We need to find a way to slow the progression — or prevent the development — of dementia with Lewy bodies,” Simmering told Medical News Today. In their new study, Simmering and his team found that males taking three commonly prescribed prostate medications may lower their risk of developing dementia with Lewy bodies. For this study, researchers analyzed health information data for almost 643,000 males taking medication to treat urinary issues caused by an enlarged prostate. About 126,000 participants were taking the prostate medications terazosinTrusted Source, doxazosinTrusted Source, or alfuzosinTrusted Source. “We became interested in these medications — terazosin, doxazosin, and alfuzosin — a bit over 5 years ago,” Simmering explained to MNT. “It was realized [then] that the medications have a secondary effect where they activate an enzyme called PGK1.”
“PGK1 is important because it is the first enzyme that produces ATPTrusted Source — the chemical cells use for energy,” he continued.
