ReviewCNS drugs2014
Neuroprotective properties of citicoline: facts, doubts and unresolved issues.
Review in CNS drugs, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03046693 (Citicoline Effect on Non-arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy), which is not on this map. Cited by 73 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
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.
Citicoline Effect on Non-arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION) : Pattern Electroretinography Study
Who cites it
73 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 158 citations in OpenAlex.
- Is Citicoline Effective in Preventing and Slowing Down Dementia?-A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Citicoline for treating people with acute ischemic stroke.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Efficacy of Citicoline as a Neuroprotector in children with post cardiac arrest: a randomized controlled clinical trial.European journal of pediatrics · 2021Trial
- Citicoline on the Barthel Index: Severe and moderate brain injury.Indian journal of pharmacologyTrial
- Lipid Metabolism in Central Nervous System Diseases: Pathological Mechanisms and Therapeutic Advances.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Review
- Phytochemical and Fungal Bioactive Compounds in the "Brain Health Triad": A Narrative Review on Neurostimulating, Neurotrophic, and Neuroprotective Synergy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Acute Intoxication with Caffeine-Containing Tablets: A Case Report with a Fatal Outcome.Journal of xenobiotics · 2026Article
- The Use of Citicoline in Ophthalmology: A systematic review.Beyoglu eye journal · 2026Review
- Microglial Polarization and Therapeutic Strategies in Post-stroke Neuroinflammation.Neurology and therapy · 2025Review
- Occurrence, Properties, Applications and Analytics of Cytosine and Its Derivatives.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Combined citicoline and Cerebrolysin for neuroprotection in traumatic brain injury: a retrospective cohort analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Preclinical evidence for the anxiolytic- and antidepressant-like effects of citicoline and imipramine in the sciatic nerve-ligated mice.IBRO neuroscience reports · 2024Article
- Neuroprotective and neuroregenerative drugs after severe traumatic brain injury : A narrative review from a clinical perspective.Wiener klinische Wochenschrift · 2024Review
- Dopamine and Citicoline-Co-Loaded Solid Lipid Nanoparticles as Multifunctional Nanomedicines for Parkinson's Disease Treatment by Intranasal Administration.Pharmaceutics · 2024Article
- Combination Therapy for Sustainable Fish Oil Products: Improving Cognitive Function with n-3 PUFA and Natural Ingredients.Biomedicines · 2024Review
- Current neuroprotective agents in stroke.Turkish journal of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2024Review
- Article
- Optic Nerve Neuroprotection in Glaucoma: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- Efficacy of Citicoline Delivered via Brain Extracellular Space against Experimental Acute Ischemic Stroke in Rats.International journal of medical sciences · 2024Article
13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Citicoline is the generic name of the pharmaceutical substance that chemically is cytidine-5'-diphosphocholine (CDP-choline), which is identical to the natural intracellular precursor of phospholipid phosphatidylcholine. Following injection or ingestion, citicoline is believed to undergo quick hydrolysis and dephosphorylation to yield cytidine and choline, which then enter the brain separately and are used to resynthesize CDP-choline inside brain cells. Neuroprotective activity of citicoline has been repeatedly shown in preclinical models of brain ischaemia and trauma, but two recent, large, pivotal clinical trials have revealed no benefits in ischaemic stroke and traumatic brain injury. However, the substance seems to be beneficial in some slowly advancing neurodegenerative disorders such as glaucoma and mild vascular cognitive impairment. This paper critically discusses issues related to the clinical pharmacology of citicoline, including its pharmacokinetics/biotransformation and pharmacodynamics/mode of action. It is concluded that at present, there is no adequate description of the mechanism(s) of the pharmacological actions of this substance. The possibility should be considered and tested that, in spite of apparently fast catabolism, the intact citicoline molecule or the phosphorylated intermediate products of its hydrolysis, cytidine monophosphate and phosphocholine, are pharmacologically active.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.