Abstract
Aldose reductase has been implicated in the etiology of diabetic complications. A variety of compounds have been observed to inhibit aldose reductase and effective, orally active inhibitors of the enzyme have been investigated for many years. Although several of these compounds have progressed to the clinical level, only one such drug is currently on the market. Due to the limited number of available drugs for the treatment of diabetic complications, a number of rational approaches for the discovery of aldose reductase inhibitors have been taken since the determination of the 3-dimensional structure of the enzyme. In this review, rational approaches such as the molecular modeling of aldose reductase and its complex structure and structure-based drug discovery are presented, following a short summary of known inhibitors.
