Parisi V, Barbano L, Di Renzo A, Coppola G, Ziccardi L. Neuroenhancement and neuroprotection by oral solution citicoline in non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy as a model of neurodegeneration: A randomized pilot study.
PLoS One 2019;
14:e0220435. [PMID:
31348806 PMCID:
PMC6660126 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0220435]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate whether treatment with Citicoline in oral solution (OS-Citicoline) would increase visual function, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) function, and neural conduction along visual pathways (neuroenhancement), and/or induce preservation of RGCs fibers’ loss (neuroprotection) in non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a human model of neurodegeneration.
Methods
Thirty-six patients with NAION and 20 age-matched controls were enrolled. Nineteen NAION patients received 500 mg/day of OS-Citicoline for a 6-month period followed by 3-month of wash-out (NC Group); 17 NAION patients were not treated (NN Group) from baseline to 9 months. In all subjects at baseline, and in NC and NN eyes at 6 and 9 months of follow-up, we assessed Visual Acuity (VA), Pattern Electroretinogram (PERG), Visual Evoked Potentials (VEP), retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFL-T), and Humphrey 24–2 visual field mean deviation (HFA MD). Mean differences were statistically evaluated with ANOVA between Groups, and linear correlations were analysed with Pearson’s test.
Results
At 6 months, significant differences between groups for all parameters were observed (ANOVA, p<0.01). In NC eyes, VA increased, PERG responses increased, VEP recordings improved and were significantly correlated with increases in HFA MD (p<0.01), and RNFL-T was unmodified or improved. In contrast, in NN eyes, VA, PERG, VEP responses, RNFL-T, and HFA MD were further worsened. Significant differences were still present at 9-month follow-up in the NN Group and after 3 months of OS-Citicoline wash-out in NC eyes.
Conclusions
OS-Citicoline treatment induced neuroenhancement (improvement in RGCs function and neural conduction along visual pathways related to improvement of visual field defects) and neuroprotection (unmodified or improved RNFL morphological condition) in a human model of NAION involving fast RGCs degeneration.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03758118.
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