Source: DGNews  |  Posted 4 years ago

CHICAGO, IL -- October 16, 2007 -- Use of beta-adrenergic receptor agents (agonists and perhaps antagonists) appear to be associated with reduced odds of venous leg ulcers, according to an article in this week's Archives of Dermatology.

David J. Margolis, MD, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, and colleagues assessed 414,887 patients who visited a general practitioner in the United Kingdom between 1987 and 2002. Of these, 62,886 were prescribed beta-adrenergic receptor agonists to treat or prevent a medical condition. An additional 54,861 took beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists, which work along the same pathway but through a different mechanism, with 6,620 taking both.

"A protective association between beta-adrenergic receptor agonists and perhaps beta-adrenergic receptor antagonists and venous leg ulcers exists," the authors write. "The evidence in this study should not be used as a rationale for treatment of venous leg ulcers with beta-adrenergic receptor agents but should be compelling for the consideration of a randomized clinical trial."

REFERENCE:
Arch Dermatol. 2007; 143(10):1275-1280.

SOURCE: American Medical Association