Improvement of signs and symptoms of chronic venous insufficiency and microangiopathy with Pycnogenol ®: A prospective, controlled study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of standardized French maritime pine bark extract Pycnogenol ® in patients with severe chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). 98 subjects with symptomatic CVI and edema were randomly assigned to one group treated with 150 mg Pycnogenol a day only, another group with stockings only and a third group with both Pycnogenol and elastic stockings. The average ambulatory venous pressure (AVP) at inclusion was 58 ± 7 mm Hg (range 48–60 mm Hg) with a refilling time (RT) < 12 s (average 7 ± 2 s). The duration of the disease was on average 6.0 ± 3.1 years. There were no differences in AVP or RT among the 3 groups at inclusion and microcirculatory and clinical evaluations were comparable. After 8 weeks treatment there was a significant decrease of rate of ankle swelling, resting flux, transcutaneous pO 2 and clinical symptom scores in all groups with significantly better results for the combination treatment. Pycnogenol alone was more effective than compression alone for all parameters ( p < 0.05). No side-effects were observed; compliance and tolerability were very good. This study corroborates a significant clinical role for Pycnogenol in the management, treatment and control of CVI also in combination with compression.