Background: Peripheral arterial occlusion disease (PAOD) is caused mainly by chronic inflammation and endothelium dysfunction, and is often treated with cilostazol. However, because this drug's influence on atherogenic cytokines is still not well known, this study examined the effect of cilostazol on the serum levels of soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), adiponectin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in patients with type 2 diabetes and PAOD.
Methods and results: The 92 type 2 diabetics with PAOD and 100 non-PAOD diabetics were enrolled and randomly assigned to a group receiving either cilostazol or placebo for 6 months. The atherogenic cytokines were measured at the beginning and completion of the study. In the PAOD groups, those in the cilostazol group had significant changes in the levels of hs-CRP, sCD40L and adiponectin (P=0.001, P=0.05, P=0.004, respectively). Changes in the levels of adiponectin and sCD40L were more significant in the PAOD group treated with cilostazol than in the non-PAOD group also treated with the drug (P=0.01 and P=0.008, respectively).
Conclusions: Cilostazol can decrease hs-CPR and sCD40L levels and increase that of adiponectin, and then delay the progression of atherogenesis and chronic inflammation in type 2 diabetics, especially those with PAOD.