Cilostazol improves endothelial function in acute cerebral ischemia patients: a double-blind placebo controlled trial with flow-mediated dilation technique

BACKGROUND: In order to evaluate the impact of cilostazol on endothelial function, we compared the changes of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) between aspirin and cilostazol groups in patients with acute cerebral ischemia. METHODS: Patients presenting with acute cerebral ischemic events were randomly assigned into aspirin (n = 40) or cilostazol (n = 40) group in a double-blinded manner. FMD was measured at baseline (T0) and 90 days (T1). We measured L-arginine at baseline (a precursor of biologically active nitric oxides). Serious and non-serious adverse events were described. RESULTS: Despite no difference in the baseline FMD values (p = 0.363), there was a significant increase of FMD values in cilostazol group (7.9 ± 2.4 to 8.9 ± 2.3%, p = 0.001) and not in aspirin group (8.5 ± 2.6 to 9.3 ± 2.8%, p = 0.108). In the multiple regression analysis performed in cilostazol group, serum L–arginine levels were inversely correlated with FMD at T1 (ß = −0.050, SE: 0.012, p < 0.001) with age, total cholesterol levels, and C-reactive protein as confounders. While T0 FMD values in both aspirin and cilostazol groups did not show any correlation with serum L-arginine levels, the correlation is restored in the cilostazol group at T1 (r = 0.467, p = 0.007), while such is not shown in the aspirin group. There was no difference of serious adverse events between the two groups (p = 0.235). Adverse events were more common in the cilostazol group (35/40 vs. 25/40, p = 0.010), due to frequent headaches (14/40 vs. 3/30, p = 0.003) which was well tolerated. CONCLUSION: Cilostazol improved endothelial function in acute cerebral ischemia patients. It also restored an inverse correlation between 3-month FMD and baseline L-arginine levels. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT03116269, 04/12/2017, retrospectively registered. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12883-017-0950-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.