Oral citicoline treatment improves visual pathway function in glaucoma.
BACKGROUND
Increased latency and reduced amplitude of visual evoked potentials (VEP), frequently encountered in ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma, suggest slowed neural conduction in the visual pathways. An improvement in VEP latency and amplitude has been reported following repeated intramuscular injections of citicoline, a neuroprotective drug. Our aim was to find whether citicoline given orally would produce a similar effect.


METHODS
VEP latency and amplitude were measured in 21 glaucomatous eyes prior to and after two bi-weekly courses of citicoline taken orally in a dose of 1 gram/day. The treatment courses were separated by a two-week break; post-treatment VEP measurement was performed two weeks after the end of the second treatment.


RESULTS
62% of the eyes showed a response to the treatment, with VEP latency reduced from 123.5 (3.9 SEM) ms to 111.9 (1.9 SEM) ms (P=0.0008), and VEP amplitude increased from 6.56 (1.39 SEM) to 7.88 (1.16 SEM) (P=0.04).


CONCLUSIONS
Citicoline given orally improves visual evoked potentials in some glaucoma patients.
Rejdak
Robert
R
2nd Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University, Lublin, Poland.
Toczołowski
Jerzy
J
Kurkowski
Jacek
J
Kamiński
Marek L
ML
Rejdak
Konrad
K
Stelmasiak
Zbigniew
Z
Grieb
Paweł
P
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005901:Glaucoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology
D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline