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Published on: January 18, 2018
Cilostazol for Secondary Prevention of Stroke: Should the Guidelines Perhaps Be Extended?
George Galyfos1, Argyri Sianou2
1Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Propaedeutic Surgery, University of Athens Medical School, Hippocration Hospital, Athens, Greece.
Insights
Cilostazol effectively treats intermittent claudication in peripheral artery disease. Further research is needed to determine its role in preventing cerebrovascular events, despite existing clinical data.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Background:
- Cilostazol is a novel antiplatelet agent.
- It is a recommended first-line treatment for intermittent claudication.
- Its role in cerebrovascular events is not yet established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the mechanisms of action of cilostazol.
- To present recent clinical data on cilostazol's efficacy.
- To assess the potential for extending clinical guidelines for cilostazol.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized and pooled clinical data.
- Analysis of pharmacological mechanisms.
Main Results:
- Sufficient data support cilostazol for peripheral artery disease.
- Extensive clinical data exist for cerebrovascular events, but guidelines are not yet extended.
- Cilostazol exhibits antiplatelet and vasodilatory properties.
Conclusions:
- Cilostazol is a proven treatment for intermittent claudication.
- Further evaluation of existing data is necessary to determine its use in cerebrovascular disease prevention.
- Official guidelines may need to be updated based on comprehensive data analysis.
Abstract:
Cilostazol belongs to the new generation antiplatelet agents that have been introduced and studied regarding a potential role in cardiovascular disease prevention or treatment. Although data on peripheral artery disease are sufficient, and the drug has been recommended as first line treatment for intermittent claudication, it has not been approved nor recommended as far as cerebrovascular events are concerned. However, a great volume of randomized as well as pooled data has been published during the last years. Therefore, this review aims to describe the basic mechanisms of cilostazol's action as well as to present all recent clinical data in order to conclude on whether official guidelines should be extended.
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