title: An open study to assess the safety and efficacy of Aesculus hippocastanum tablets (Aesculaforce 50mg) in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency.
abstract: An open study was carried out to assess, primarily, the safety and tolerability of Aesculus hippocastanum in the treatment of CVI. Patients underwent 8 consecutive weeks of treatment and were asked to take one 50 mg Aesculus hippocastanum tablet, twice daily. In total, 91 adverse events were reported, of which only 4 were rated as probably related to the study drug. Patients judged the tolerability of the study medication in the majority of the cases at visits 2 and 3 (90 and 95%, respectively) to be "good" or "fairly good." Only 2 patients rated tolerability as poor at visit 3. For each of the symptoms investigated the difference in the median value between baseline and visit 3 was found to be statistically significant and both the ankle and lower leg circumference decreased. The PPG measurements were rejected after analysis since validation measurements carried out after the trial showed that the PPG technique had an internal error of around 30%. Nevertheless, the majority of patients rated efficacy to be "very good" or "good," with only 10 patients reporting no effect by the end of the study. The results of this study indicate that Aesculaforce 50 mg tablets are a safe, well-tolerated and efficacious treatment for Widmer stage I and II CVI.
authors.affiliation: Bioforce (UK) Ltd., 2 Brewster Place, Irvine, KA11 5 DD, Scotland, UK. sylvia@bioforce.co.uk
authors.forename: Sylvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gallagher
authors.forename: Lorna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: McIntyre
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Suter
authors.forename: Jen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tan
mesh_terms: D031319:Aesculus; D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D010349:Patient Compliance; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014689:Venous Insufficiency / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts