Therapeutic effect of ticlopidine, a new inhibitor of platelet aggregation, on chronic arterial occlusive diseases, a double-blind study versus placebo

Abstract

The clinical efficacy of ticlopidine, a platelet aggregation inhibitor, was evaluated in a double-blind placebo-controlled study on 193 patients with ischemic ulcers due to chronic arterial occlusion. In the group treated with ticlopidine, significantly better efficacy was noted over the placebo group in terms of judgment on overall improvement by doctors in charge as well as by the committee assessing with color slide films. The drug was particularly effective for the treatment of patients with occlusion in the arteries on the distal side and for the ischemic ulcer with relatively small size. In the group with ticlopidine, granulation was significantly improved compared to the placebo group. Those patients who had pain due to arterial occlusion on the distal side were significantly improved by this agent. The mean diameters of ulcers were clearly reduced. Therefore, this agent could possibly be claimed as an effective remedy against the main symptoms of chronic arterial occlusion. The frequencies of side effects and abnormalities in laboratory tests were comparable in the group treated with ticlopidine to those of the group with placebo. It was, therefore, concluded that this agent has an outstanding clinical value as a conservative treatment in chronic arterial occlusion.