Statin use and delayed onset of Huntington's disease

Mov Disord. 2019 Feb;34(2):281-285. doi: 10.1002/mds.27591. Epub 2018 Dec 21.

Abstract

Background: There is evidence to suggest that 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) may be beneficial in Huntington's disease (HD).

Objective: This study aimed to determine if statin use was associated with delayed motor diagnosis in participants with premotor HD.

Methods: Among premotor HD participants from the Enroll-HD database, statin users were propensity score matched with statin nonusers based on cytosine-adenine-guanine-age product score, cytosine-adenine-guanine repeat length, baseline age, sex, and region. A Cox regression survival analysis compared the annualized hazard ratio (HR) of receiving a motor diagnosis between the 2 groups.

Results: The annualized HR of progressing to an HD motor diagnosis was lower in the statin users (n = 89) when compared with the statin nonusers (n = 89; HR = 0.27 [95% CI 0.18-0.50], P < .0001).

Conclusions: In patients with premotor HD, statin use was associated with a delayed motor diagnosis of HD. Further studies are warranted to investigate if statins would be an effective disease-modifying therapy for HD. © 2018 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Age of Onset*
  • Aged
  • Disease Progression*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Huntington Disease / diagnosis
  • Huntington Disease / drug therapy*
  • Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Movement Disorders / drug therapy
  • Propensity Score
  • Proportional Hazards Models
  • Retrospective Studies

Substances

  • Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors