(E.J. Mundell/ HealthDay) — Soon after a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer, drugs that lower levels of testosterone are often offered as treatment, since testosterone fuels the cancer’s growth.
But a major new study suggests that this approach might have an unwanted side effect: Higher odds for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
“Our results suggest that clinicians need to raise their awareness about potential long-term cognitive effects of hormone therapy and discuss these risks with their patients,” said study author Ravishankar Jayadevappa.
He’s a research associate professor of geriatrics at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine in Philadelphia.
One expert said it does raise troubling questions. (…)