SynthesisNaunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology2025
Efficacy, safety and mechanistic insights of pentoxifylline in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Novel treatments that act beyond the conventionally targeted monoamine system are urgently needed to provide more effective relief for patients with major depressive disorder. Pentoxifylline (PTX) is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor with potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, with additional pleiotropic effects. This is the first systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the role of PTX in major depressive disorder. A comprehensive search of electronic databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science, was performed in October 2024. We included only randomized controlled trials (RCTs), and their data were extracted and analyzed using Reman 5.4 software. The primary outcome was the change in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). Four RCTs with 318 patients were included in the study. PTX showed a statistically significant improvement in HAM-D scores at the primary endpoint compared to the placebo (MD = -3.84, 95% CI [-4.87 to -2.81], P < 0.00001). Moreover, PTX showed a statistically significant increase in serotonin and BDNF levels (MD = 20.76 ng/mL, 95% CI [5.49 to 36.04], P = 0.008; and MD = 10.83 ng/mL, 95% CI [-0.22 to 21.88], P = 0.05, respectively) and a statistically significant decrease in TNF-α and IL-6 levels (MD = -3.24 pg/mL, 95% CI [-4.12 to -2.36], P < 0.00001; and MD = -2.64 pig/mL, 95% CI [-3.79 to -1.48], P < 0.00001, respectively). There was no statistically significant difference between the PTX and placebo in any of the reported side effects. The study findings suggest that PTX may be effective and safe as an adjuvant antidepressant agent in patients with MDD, demonstrating a significant reduction in HAM-D scores. The results of this study need to be interpreted with caution considering several limitations.
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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.