Preventive and therapeutic effects of gliclazide on diabetic retinopathy: comparison with glibenclamide treatment.

The effects of long-term treatment with gliclazide on diabetic retinopathy and platelet adhesion were investigated. The subjects comprised 25 patients with NIDDM, of which 12 cases and 13 cases were treated with gliclazide and glibenclamide respectively. An improvement in retinopathy was observed in 7 out of 12 cases in the gliclazide-treated group. Of the remaining 5 cases, four cases remained unchanged and one deteriorated. Of the 13 cases treated with glibenclamide, on the other hand, only two cases showed an improvement in retinopathy after treatment, 7 cases remained unchanged and 4 cases deteriorated. The values for the platelet adhesion test following 3 years treatment were 52 +/- 14% and 42 +/- 17% in the gliclazide and the glibenclamide-treated groups respectively. These results were not statistically significant. These data indicate that gliclazide might be more effective than glibenclamide with respect to either improving diabetic retinopathy or preventing its progression.