Blood pressure medication may reduce anxiety in those with autism

A medication commonly used to lower blood pressure shows promise for reducing anxiety in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).Initially developed to treat elevated blood pressure and tachycardia, propranolol, a β-adrenergic antagonist, has long been used for treatment of a variety of conditions such as test-anxiety, and public speaking anxiety.But some studies have suggested β-adrenergic antagonists might offer benefits in terms of language and social behaviors in adults with ASD, said a paper in Psychopharmacology. People with ASD often have impaired social communication as well as co-occurring anxiety. A small double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial was conducted using propranolol in ASD for social interaction, anxiety and language. The primary outcome was the General Social Outcome Measure-2 (GSOM-2) for social interaction, and secondary outcomes were the Clinician Global Clinical Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) ratings for social interaction, anxiety and language. A total of 69 participants completed the study.Participants with confirmed ASD, aged seven to 24 years, were enrolled and randomized to a 12-week course of either propranolol or placebo. Subjects had an average age of 14 years, close to half were female, and the majority were Caucasian. There were blinded assessments at baseline, and again at six and 12 weeks. It was found that at the end of 12 weeks, propranolol showed a significant beneficial effect for anxiety. “By clinician assessment, the odds of improvement in anxiety were about 2.6 times greater in the propranolol group than in the placebo group,” the study said. However, this is based on a small cohort and “This will need confirmation in a larger multicentre trial,” the study said.The findings did not show an impact on social interaction measures or language.

Blood pressure medication may reduce anxiety in those with autism

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