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Karen L. Houseknecht, Ph.D., professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, in collaboration with Maine Medical Center Research Institute (MMCRI) researchers Katherine Motyl, Ph.D., and Cliff Rosen, M.D., published an original research article entitled, “Propranolol attenuates risperidone-induced trabecular bone loss in female mice,” in the July 2015 edition of Endocrinology.

This collaborative study evaluated the significant bone loss that occurs following treatment with Risperidone, an anti-psychotic medication, in adolescent mice. The study followed a pre-clinical model that mimicked the increased fracture rate observed clinically in adults and children treated with this widely-prescribed medication.

Their research found that Propranolol, a widely-prescribed beta-blocker, can prevent Risperidone-induced bone loss.  These results are significant because if they translate clinically, patients could be protected from adverse bone effects of these medications.  Clinical studies are needed to confirm these findings in patients.

Risperidone is a member of the drug class of “atypical anti-psychotics” which are FDA approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and aggression associated with autism in young children.  In recent years, this class of medication has been increasingly prescribed “off-label” for various non-FDA approved indications including dementia and ADHD.

Houseknecht’s lab previously published that these drugs cause severe, acute insulin resistance.  Most recently, she teamed up with Motyl and Rosen at MMCRI to evaluate the pharmacology underlying the increased fracture rate observed in patients taking Risperidone.

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health.