Systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials of the efficacy and safety of ipidacrine for the treatment of peripheral neuropathies

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of adding ipidacrine to the therapy of patients with peripheral neuropathies (PN) of any etiology. Material and methods. A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials evaluating the efficacy and safety of ipidacrine in patients with PN from 2000 to 2025 was conducted. Based on four database searches, 12 studies involving 4.309 adult patients were included in the analysis. The outcomes evaluated included the dynamics of pain intensity, neurophysiological parameters according to the results of electroneuromyography, and safety parameters. Results. Statistically significant superiority of ipidacrine over comparison therapy in reducing pain intensity on a visual analogue scale at 2 (mean difference [MD] 6.16, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.30; 10.02, p=0.002) and 8 weeks (MD 8.59, 95% CI 1.46; 15.73, p=0.018), as well as on a digital rating scale at 4 weeks (MD 1.10, 95% CI 0.18; 2.02, p=0.02). The increase in the velocity of the pulse along the peripheral motor fibers after 6 weeks during ipidacrine therapy was statistically significantly greater than during comparison therapy (MD –4.08, 95% CI –5.63; –2.53, p