title: Long-Term Treatment with Citicoline Prevents Cognitive Decline and Predicts a Better Quality of Life after a First Ischemic Stroke.
abstract: Stroke, as the leading cause of physical disability and cognitive impairment, has a very significant impact on patients' quality of life (QoL). The objective of this study is to know the effect of citicoline treatment in Qol and cognitive performance in the long-term in patients with a first ischemic stroke. This is an open-label, randomized, parallel study of citicoline vs. usual treatment. All subjects were selected 6 weeks after suffering a first ischemic stroke and randomized into parallel arms. Neuropsychological evaluation was performed at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year and 2 years after stroke, and QoL was measured using the EuroQoL-5D questionnaire at 2 years. 163 patients were followed during 2 years. The mean age was 67.5 years-old, and 50.9% were women. Age and absence of citicoline treatment were independent predictors of both utility and poor quality of life. Patients with cognitive impairment had a poorer QoL at 2 years (0.55 vs. 0.66 in utility, p = 0.015). Citicoline treatment improved significantly cognitive status during follow-up (p = 0.005). In conclusion, treatment with long-term citicoline is associated with a better QoL and improves cognitive status 2 years after a first ischemic stroke.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona 08035, Spain. josalvar@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alvarez-Sabín
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona 08035, Spain. esantama@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Estevo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Santamarina
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona 08035, Spain. omaisterra@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Maisterra
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona 08035, Spain. cjacas@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jacas
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona 08035, Spain. cmolina@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Molina
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital Vall d'Hebron, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona 08035, Spain. maquinta@vhebron.net.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quintana
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002545:Brain Ischemia / Q000150:complications*; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011788:Quality of Life; D011897:Random Allocation; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D003566:Cytidine Diphosphate Choline
keywords: citicoline; cognitive impairment; ischemic stroke; quality of life