According to a story from Medical Xpress, a medicine used to treat high blood pressure and enlarged prostate could be a potential therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare disease. The drug in question is called terazosin. Studies of stem cell models, zebrafish, and mice have shown that terazosin can reduce the death of motor neurons by boosting their energy production. In the disease, these cells don’t produce as much energy and eventually start dying.
About Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease or motor neuron disease, is a rare, degenerative disease that causes the death of nerve cells associated with the voluntary muscles. Little is known about the origins of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, with no definitive cause in about 95 percent of cases. The remaining five percent appear to inherit the disease from their parents. Symptoms initially include loss of coordination, muscle weakness and atrophy, muscle stiffness and cramping, and trouble speaking, breathing, or swallowing. These symptoms worsen steadily over time; most patients die because of respiratory complications. Treatment is mostly symptomatic and the medication riluzole can prolong life. Life expectancy after diagnosis ranges from two to four years, but some patients can survive for substantially longer. To learn more about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, click here.
Finding a Possible Treatment
The hope is that terazosin could help slow the progression of the disease, which has very limited treatment options. An additional feasibility study is being organized, and with positive results, clinical trials with terazosin will follow. 50 people living with the disease are being asked to participate.
Terazosin was studied in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after showing potential in models of Parkinson’s disease and stroke. As a repurposed drug with approved uses, terazosin is already known to be a safe therapy in humans, so it could potentially pass through regulatory hurdles more quickly than a brand new drug.
Check out the original study here in the journal eBioMedicine.
