Hemorheologic treatment of cerebral reversible ischemic episodes with pentoxifylline--a prospective study.

One hundred patients (49 males, 51 females) with reversible neurologic deficit due to cerebral ischemia of vascular origin in the carotid artery territory were recruited for a long-term observation to follow up recurrence of ischemic events. Fifty-eight patients (mean age sixty-four years) were treated daily with 1200 mg oral pentoxifylline in addition to basic therapy (antihypertensives, antidiabetic drugs, etc), and 42 matching patients (mean age sixty-two years) of a control group had no pentoxifylline or other hemorheologic medication. The mean observation period was fifty-six months (range thirty-six to sixty). On admission patients presented with increased platelet aggregation and/or impaired red cell filterability and with enhanced red cell aggregation. Five patients in the pentoxifylline group (8.6%) and 16 control patients (38%) suffered a relapse of an ischemic episode. These data support previous reports of a beneficial effect of pentoxifylline in the prevention of cerebral ischemic events.