Citicoline Oral Solution Induces Functional Enhancement and Synaptic Plasticity in Patients with Open-Angle Glaucoma - Research Findings

Q: What was the purpose of this study on Citicoline in open-angle glaucoma?

To evaluate how 12 months of Citicoline oral solution affects retinal function and neural conduction along the visual pathways in open-angle glaucoma patients.

Q: How was Citicoline compared with placebo in the trial?

In a randomized, prospective, double-blind study, 15 patients received Citicoline oral solution (500 mg/day) and 14 received placebo for 12 months.

Q: What outcomes improved after 12 months of Citicoline treatment?

PERG and VEP showed increased amplitudes, and implicit times for PERG P50 and VEP P100 were significantly shortened, along with Retinocortical Time shortening, with no significant changes in the placebo group.

Sep 30, 2026

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Objectives evaluate retinal function and neural conduction changes along visual pathways after 12 months of Citicoline oral solution in open-angle glaucoma patients. In a randomized, prospective, double-blind trial, 29 patients received Citicoline (Neurotidine®, 500 mg/day) or placebo for 12 months. Visual field, PERG, VEP, and Retinocortical Time were assessed at baseline, 6, and 12 months, with brain DTI-MRI at baseline and 12 months. Citicoline increased PERG and VEP amplitudes, shortened electrophysiologic implicit times and RCT, and showed associations with visual field and DTI-MRI metrics.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Objectives and Methods

Study design

Outcome measures

Results

Electrophysiology

Imaging correlations

Conclusions

Introduction

Article Citicoline Oral Solution Induces Functional Enhancement and Synaptic Plasticity in Patients with Open-Angle Glaucoma Vincenzo Parisi 1,2, Lucia Ziccardi 1,3, *, Lucia Tanga 1, Lucilla Barbano 1, Emanuele Tinelli 4, Gianluca Coppola 5, Antonio Di Renzo 1, Manuele Michelessi 1, Gloria Roberti 1, Carmela Carnevale 1, Sara Giammaria 1, Carmen Dell’Aquila 1, Mattia D’Andrea 6, Gianluca Manni 6 and Francesco Oddone 1 Academic Editor: Eun Ji Lee Received: 1 December 2025 Revised: 20 December 2025 Accepted: 24 December 2025 Published: 27 December 2025 Copyright: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 IRCCS—Fondazione Bietti, Via Livenza 3, 00198 Rome, Italy; [vincenzo.parisi@fondazionebietti.it](vincenzo.parisi@fondazionebietti.it) (V.P.); [lucia.tanga@fondazionebietti.it](lucia.tanga@fondazionebietti.it) (L.T.); [lucilla.barbano@fondazionebietti.it](lucilla.barbano@fondazionebietti.it) (L.B.); [antonio.direnzo@fondazionebietti.it](antonio.direnzo@fondazionebietti.it) (A.D.R.); [manuele.michelessi@fondazionebietti.it](manuele.michelessi@fondazionebietti.it) (M.M.); [gloria.roberti@fondazionebietti.it](gloria.roberti@fondazionebietti.it) (G.R.); [carmela.carnevale@fondazionebietti.it](carmela.carnevale@fondazionebietti.it) (C.C.); [sara.giammaria@fondazionebietti.it](sara.giammaria@fondazionebietti.it) (S.G.); [carmen.dellaquila@fondazionebietti.it](carmen.dellaquila@fondazionebietti.it) (C.D.); [francesco.oddone@fondazionebietti.it](francesco.oddone@fondazionebietti.it) (F.O.) 2 Departmental Faculty of Medicine, UniCamillus-Saint Camillus International University of Health Sciences, 00131 Rome, Italy 3 Department of Medicine and Health Sciences “V. Tiberio”, University of Molise, Via F. de Sanctis 1, 86100 Campobasso, Italy 4 Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Græcia University, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy; [emanuele.tinelli@unicz.it](emanuele.tinelli@unicz.it) 5 Department of Medico-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome Polo Pontino ICOT, 04100 Latina, Italy; [gianluca.coppola@uniroma1.it](gianluca.coppola@uniroma1.it) 6 Department of Sense Organs, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico 155, 00161 Rome, Italy; [mattia.dandrea@uniroma1.it](mattia.dandrea@uniroma1.it) (M.D.); [gianlucamanni53@gmail.com](gianlucamanni53@gmail.com) (G.M.) * Correspondence: lucia.ziccardi@fondazionebietti.it or [lucia.ziccardi@unimol.it](lucia.ziccardi@unimol.it); Tel.: +39-06-85356727; Fax: +39-06-84242333 Abstract Objectives: To evaluate the changes in retinal function and neural conduction along the visual pathways after 12 months of treatment with Citicoline oral solution in patients with open-angle glaucoma (OAG) . Methods: In this randomized, prospective, doubleblind study, 29 OAG patients were enrolled. Fifteen patients (Citicoline Group, 15 eyes) received Citicoline oral solution (Neurotidine®, 500 mg/day), and 14 patients (Placebo Group, 14 eyes) received placebo for 12 months. Visual field (VF), pattern electroretinogram (PERG), visual evoked potentials (VEP), and Retinocortical Time (RCT) were assessed at baseline and after 6 and 12 months. Brain Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) was performed at baseline and at 12 months. Results: PERG, VEP, and RCT baseline values were comparable between groups (p > 0.01) at baseline. After 12 months of Citicoline treatment, significant (p < 0.01) increases in PERG P50–N95 and VEP N75-P100 amplitudes, and significant shortening of PERG P50, VEP P100 implicit times and RCT were observed. VEP implicit times shortening significantly correlated with the changes in VF Mean Deviation, and RCT shortening was associated with changes in DTI-MRI metrics in the lateral geniculate nucleus and on optic radiat

FAQs

What was the purpose of this study on Citicoline in open-angle glaucoma?

To evaluate how 12 months of Citicoline oral solution affects retinal function and neural conduction along the visual pathways in open-angle glaucoma patients.

How was Citicoline compared with placebo in the trial?

In a randomized, prospective, double-blind study, 15 patients received Citicoline oral solution (500 mg/day) and 14 received placebo for 12 months.

What outcomes improved after 12 months of Citicoline treatment?

PERG and VEP showed increased amplitudes, and implicit times for PERG P50 and VEP P100 were significantly shortened, along with Retinocortical Time shortening, with no significant changes in the placebo group.

Sep 30, 2026

Upload by awa