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 150mg 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±7mmHg (range 48–60mmHg) with a refilling time (RT)<12s (average 7±2s). 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.