ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Ophthalmol.
Sec. Retina
Volume 5 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fopht.2025.1665519
This article is part of the Research TopicIschemic retinopathy: underlying pathologic mechanisms and identifying therapeutic molecular targetsView all 4 articles
Early Prostaglandin E₁ Treatment Improves Visual Outcomes in Central Retinal Artery Occlusion: A Retrospective Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Tokushima Red Cross Hospital, Tokushima, Japan
- 2Tokushima University Graduate School, Tokushima, Japan
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Background: Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is a vision-threatening emergency with no established effective treatment. Prostaglandin E₁ (PGE₁), known for its vasodilatory and cytoprotective properties, may offer therapeutic benefits for retinal ischemia. Methods: In this retrospective study, we compared visual outcomes between CRAO patients who received intravenous PGE₁ within 24 hours of symptom onset (followed by oral administration) and those who received conventional therapy. PGE₁ was administered intravenously for 5 days. Results: At one month, the PGE₁ group showed significantly better best-corrected visual acuity compared to the control group. Baseline structural retinal parameters, including maximal retinal thickness (MRT) and central retinal thickness (CRT), did not differ significantly between groups. In the PGE₁ group, baseline MRT was negatively correlated with visual acuity at one month. Retinal arteriovenous diameters showed no significant change post-treatment. No adverse events were observed in either group. Conclusion: Early administration of PGE₁ may improve visual outcomes in CRAO. These findings support further investigation into PGE₁ as a potential treatment for acute retinal ischemia.
Keywords: Central retinal artery occlusion, Prostaglandin E1, Retinal Ischemia, Optical Coherence Tomography, visual outcome, Neuroprotection
Received: 14 Jul 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 SANO, Yanai, Kondo and Mitamura. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: HIROKI SANO, Tokushima Red Cross Hospital, Tokushima, Japan
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