An Israeli study found topical beta-blockers used to treat glaucoma were not associated with an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD).  

Writing in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, authors led by Rabin Medical Center’s Dr Amit Meshi, said data were drawn from the electronic medical records of 13,381 patients newly diagnosed with glaucoma between 2000 and 2020. Of these patients, 10,075 used topical β-blockers and 3,306 did not. Patients were followed up to monitor the incidence of PD until December 2021.  

During follow-up, 175 patients (1.31%) were diagnosed with PD – 145 in the beta-blocker group and 30 in the non-beta-blocker group. Researchers calculated the hazard ratio for PD in topical beta-blocker users compared with non-users at 1.16 (95% CI 0.78 to 1.72, p=0.47). Kaplan-Meier analysis also showed no significant difference in PD incidence between the groups.