title: Combination of flavonoids with Centella asiatica and Melilotus for diabetic cystoid macular edema without macular thickening.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the orally administered combination of flavonoids desmin and troxerutin with Centella asiatica and Melilotus for the treatment of diabetic cystoid macular edema (CME) without macular thickening.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this prospective, interventional, controlled study, 40 consecutive patients with type 2 diabetes and CME without macular thickening at optical coherence tomography were randomized into 2 groups of 20 subjects each (treatment and control groups). The treatment group received an oral combination of desmin (300 mg/day) and troxerutin (300 mg/day) with C. asiatica (30 mg/die) and Melilotus (160 mg/die) for 14 months. Best collected visual acuity, central retinal thickness at optical coherence tomography, retinal sensitivity (RS), and stability of fixation at microperimetry were measured at baseline and monthly for 14 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both groups, mean best collected visual acuity, central retinal thickness, and stability of fixation did not show differences during follow-up (P > 0.05). At month 14, the RS was greater in the treated group (P = 0.01) and was significantly reduced in the control group only (P < 0.001). Five eyes in the study group showed disappearance of the intraretinal cysts after a mean time of 3.5 ± 0.3 months, which persisted in the following months. These 5 eyes presented a greater RS at each follow-up visit when compared with the control group (P < 0.05). Anatomic improvement was never reported in the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The orally administered combination of flavonoids, C. asiatica, and Melilotus could be beneficial in preserving RS in diabetic CME without macular thickening.
authors.affiliation: Eye Department, University Federico II, Via Pansini 5, Naples, Italy. raifor@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Raimondo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Forte
authors.forename: Gilda
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cennamo
authors.forename: Maria Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Finelli
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bonavolontà
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: de Crecchio
authors.forename: Giovanni Maria
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Greco
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D028041:Centella; D003930:Diabetic Retinopathy / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000473:pathology*; D008269:Macular Edema / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D029903:Melilotus; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids