When men with prostate cancer have to take drugs that block the testosterone fueling their tumors, they can suffer a host of side effects that include impotence, bone loss, heart trouble, and obesity. But new research uncovers yet another possible downside to the treatment: These men may be at greater risk for dementia.
For any type of dementia, that risk increased 17%; for Alzheimer’s disease, it increased 23%, the researchers said.
Common side effects of so-called androgen-deprivation therapy include hot flashes, unstable mood, trouble sleeping, headaches, high blood sugar, allergic reactions, and impotence.
“Androgen-deprivation therapy may not only cause physical changes, such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease or obesity, but may also cause changes in cognition,” said researcher Dr. Karl Tully, a research fellow at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
But Tully cautioned that this study cannot prove that such hormone therapy caused