Hemodynamic effect of cilostazol on increasing peripheral blood flow in arteriosclerosis obliterans.

The novel synthetic antithrombotic drug, cilostazol (6-[4-(1-cyclohexyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)butoxy]-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-qui nolinone, OPC-13013) was orally administered in a dose of 200 mg/day to 4 patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans (ASO) in the lower extremities to evaluate the hemodynamic effects of the drug. After 2 weeks of treatment, tissue blood flow through the pedal vessels was measured in 8 legs by the venous occlusion method using a strain-gauge plethysmograph. The flow measured during reactive hyperemia was shown to have significantly increased from 5.04 +/- 1.90 to 9.05 +/- 4.77 ml/min/100 g tissue (p less than 0.05, t-test), the rate being 80.68 +/- 66.61% of the initial level. The drug was, therefore, considered to have high clinical potential in the treatment of chronic arterial occlusion such as ASO and Buerger's disease (thromboangiitis obliterans). The drug was also shown to be of value in supporting the reconstruction of circulation in the lower extremities.