β-Blocker Use Delays Motor Onset With Huntington Disease

TUESDAY, Dec. 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) — β-blocker use is associated with delayed motor onset and worsening of motor symptoms with Huntington disease (HD), according to a study published online Dec. 2 in JAMA Neurology.

Jordan L. Schultz, Pharm.D., from  Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues evaluated the impact of β-blockers on the timing of motor diagnosis onset and progression of HD symptoms. The analysis included 348 patients with genetically confirmed premanifest HD (preHD) and 298 with early motor-manifest HD (mmHD), with each group equally matched for β-blocker users and nonusers.

The researchers found that the preHD β-blocker users showed a statistically significant reduction in the annualized hazard of receiving a motor diagnosis versus nonusers (hazard ratio, 0.66). The mmHD β-blocker users had a slower mean annualized worsening in total motor score (mean difference, −0.45), total functional capacity score (mean difference, 0.10), and symbol digit modalities test (mean difference, 0.33) versus matched nonusers.

“These findings demonstrated that β-blockers may have a therapeutic role in HD,” the authors write. “However, further studies are warranted to elucidate the possible mechanism by which β-blockers may positively influence HD outcomes.”

One author serves as a consultant on a scientific advisory board for Novartis.

Abstract/Full Text