Parkinson’s progression could be slowed down by drug that treats enlarged prostate

A collaboration between researchers in China and The University of Iowa (IA, USA) resulted in combining basic molecular biology with big data to investigate the effects of terazosin – a drug typically used to treat enlarged prostate or prostatic hyperplasia – on the progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, followed co-senior author Lei Liu’s (Capital Medical University, Beijing, China) discovery that terazosin can block cell death. This cell-protective activity was reported to be due to the fact terazosin can activate the PGK1 enzyme, which is essential for cellular energy production. As reduced...