SynthesisInflammopharmacology2025
Effects of the anti-inflammatory pentoxifylline on psychiatric and neuropsychiatric conditions: exploring various off-label utilities with meta-analyses.
Synthesis in Inflammopharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- N-acetylcysteine for patients with alcohol use disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and their co-occurrence: a systematic review of placebo-controlled randomized trials.BMC psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Pentoxifylline uses in inner ear diseases.European journal of clinical pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Pentoxifylline targets TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB signaling to ameliorate neuroinflammation and metabolic dysfunction in a rat model of chronic hypoperfusion-induced vascular cognitive impairment.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Article
- An integrative mendelian randomisation and drug mechanism framework for target prioritisation and therapeutic repurposing in major depression.Translational psychiatry · 2026Article
- Effect of IOP-lowering treatment and Pentoxifylline on retrobulbar blood flow in normal tension glaucoma: a color doppler imaging study.Graefe's archive for clinical and experimental ophthalmology = Albrecht von Graefes Archiv fur klinische und experimentelle Ophthalmologie · 2026Article
- Alterations in coupling between global brain activity and cerebrospinal fluid flow in patients with insomnia disorder before and after transcranial direct current stimulation: a resting-state functional MRI study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundChronic inflammation has been linked to many psychiatric disorders, and therefore, pertinent anti-inflammatory therapies have been empirically evaluated for management. An enduring example of long-term safety, attainability, and versatility has been pentoxifylline (PTX). PTX is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor that modulates inflammatory mediators and affects most blood components and the blood vessels.
methodsMajor databases were systematically searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on PTX in psychiatric and neuropsychiatric disorders until September 25, 2024.
results21 RCTs were included. Five studies evaluated clinical depression: four on major depressive disorder (MDD) and one on bipolar patients experiencing treatment-resistant depression. PTX significantly reduced depressive symptoms in MDD in the four double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trials, with the three studies combining PTX and SSRIs showing statistically significant improvements in response rates. Ten RCTs on cognitive impairment reported beneficial effects, particularly in vascular dementia. Meta-analyses support its efficacy in reducing depressive symptoms, cognitive decline, asthenia, and inflammatory markers.
conclusionExploring the effects of PTX on psychiatric and neuropsychiatric conditions has provided considerable support for its utility across various disorders, most notably in moderate to severe major depressive disorder (as adjunctive therapy with SSRIs) and cognitive impairment in vascular dementia (as monotherapy). Relevantly, the potential of PTX across a wide range of conditions might prove beneficial in cases of co-occurrence.
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