Prostate cancer cells need certain androgen hormones such as testosterone to grow, so androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) has been used to treat the condition.

However, the treatment has become controversial because of its side effects.

Researchers recently studied more than 150,000 men, and greater than a third of them had received ADT therapy.

After eight years of follow-up, the investigators found a 19 percent greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in those men receiving the therapy.

Long-term ADT treatment is also associated with other conditions that normal levels of testosterone usually help protect against, including loss of libido, bone thinning, weight gain, and depression.