The effect of cilostazol on electrophysiologic changes in non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of cilostazol, an antiplatelet and vasodilation agent, on the retinal function of patients with non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy (NPDR) using a full-field electroretinogram (ffERG).

METHODS: A total of 20 eyes from 20 patients were enrolled as the cilostazol-treated group, and 16 eyes from 16 patients were enrolled as the control group to assess the functional effects of cilostazol. Ophthalmologic examinations including fundus fluorescein angiography (FFA), fundus color photography, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and ffERG responses were recorded at baseline and after 1 year of cilostazol treatment. The number of microaneurysms on FFA, the number of exudates on fundus photographs, and central macular thickness (CMT) on OCT were compared between the two groups. Recording of ffERG was also performed at baseline and repeated after 1 year of treatment. The mean implicit times and amplitudes of a- and b-waves in each ffERG response were analyzed to evaluate the retinal function.

RESULTS: CMT and the numbers of microaneurysms and exudates showed no significant change in the cilostazol-treated group. There was no significant change in ffERG parameters between baseline and 1 year after the treatment in each group. The mean changes in implicit times from the cilostazol-treated group were significantly less than in the control group in b-waves from dark-adapted 3 ERG (p = 0.017) and 10 ERG responses (p = 0.047). On the other hand, the mean changes in amplitudes were not significant after 1 year of cilostazol treatment, but there were slight increases in amplitudes of dark-adapted 0.01 ERG and 10 ERG in the cilostazol-treated group.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that cilostazol administration could reduce the implicit times of ffERG in patients with NPDR. It may be beneficial to preserve the retinal function in the diabetic retina, and additional research with larger populations and extended duration are needed to clarify the efficacy and safety of cilostazol for these patients.