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According to a recent study, the use of adrenergic blockers, statins, and NSAIDs is significantly associated with the delayed onset of Parkinson’s disease.

Several commonly used medications—specifically adrenergic blockers (ABs), statins, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)—are significantly associated with delayed onset of Parkinson’s disease (PD), according to a study published online in the Journal of Neurology.

Researchers examined a large clinical cohort to evaluate associations between the age at onset (AAO) of PD and various factors, including the use of antihypertensives, NSAIDs, statins, smoking history, and family history of PD.

“A multiple regression model identified ABs, statins, and NSAIDs as strong independent predictors of older AAO of PD, suggesting that treatment with these medications may delay the onset of PD,” wrote corresponding author Camille Malatt, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and study coauthors. “On the other hand, smoking history was a strong independent predictor of younger AAO.”

Retrospective Review

The findings are based on a retrospective review of medical records from 1,201 patients with PD treated at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. During initial clinical encounters, data were collected on PD symptom onset, current medications, smoking status, and family history of PD.

Analysis revealed that the strongest predictors of older AAO were prior exposure to ABs, statins, and NSAIDs. Patients who began taking ABs before PD onset had an average AAO of 72.3±10.1 years, compared with 62.7±10.7 years for those never exposed and 63.0±10.6 years for those who began taking ABs after PD onset. Similarly, statin users showed an average AAO of 70.8±8.3 years versus 61.5±11.2 years for nonusers. NSAID users had an AAO of 70.6±8.2 years, compared with 62.0±11.2 years for nonusers.

Repurposing Medication

“To our knowledge, this is the first study showing a delayed PD AAO in subjects exposed to AB, who developed PD symptoms almost a full decade later than those never exposed,” the authors wrote. “However, when ABs were initiated after the onset of PD, AAO did not differ from the group never exposed, suggesting that the cardiovascular indication for AB use did not influence PD AAO.”

The authors concluded that “drug repurposing would have important advantages” for both patients and the healthcare system.