Oral administration of a curcumin-phospholipid formulation (Meriva?) for treatment of chronic diabetic macular edema: a pilot study

摘要

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this open-label study was to investigate the effect of a curcumin-phospholipid lecithin formulation (Meriva?) on visual acuity and optical coherence tomography (OCT) retinal thickness in patients with chronic diabetic macular edema. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Curcumin-phospholipid lecithin formulation (Meriva?, Indena S.p.A, Milan, Italy) was administered as tablets (Norflo?, Eye Pharma, Genoa, Italy) twice a day. Visual acuity and macular edema as measured by OCT before and after curcumin-phospholipid formulation treatment were assessed. RESULTS: The study included 12 eyes from 11 patients who completed at least a 3-month follow-up period. After 3 months of therapy, no eyes showed reduction in visual acuity, 16% showed stabilization, and 84% showed improvement. The improvement was statistically significant (p = 0.0072). After 3 months of therapy, 92% of eyes showed reduction of macula edema, 8% showed stabilization, and 0% showed an increase (p = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: Our results, albeit preliminary, suggest that a curcumin-phospholipid formulation (Meriva?), administered as Norflo? tablets, may be feasible in the improvement of visual acuity and reduction of macular edema in patients with diabetic retinopathy.