Abstract
We studied the efficacy of 150 mg/day treatment with epalrestat, an aldose reductase inhibitor, on diabetic neuropathy in 22 type 2 diabetic patients-13 men and 9 women (mean age, 64.0±3.9 years old) who had a mean diabetes duration of 13.1±9.6 years, mean BMI of 22.1±3.9 kg/m2, and mean HbA1c of 6.8±0.8%. We compared symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, including foot numbness, paresthesia, and cold sensation between those treated with and without epalrestat in a crossover trial. We also analyzed patellar tendon reflex (PTR), achilles tendon reflex (ATR), vibration perception threshold (VPC), the coefficient of variation of the R-R interval (CVR-R), and motor conduction velocity (MCV). Symptoms of peripheral neuropathy, including foot numbness, paresthesia, and cold sensation were ameliorated by eplrestat. Without epalrestat, VPC worsened significantly. No significant changes were observed in PTR, ATR, CVR-R or MCV. This study suggests that epalrestat treatment effectively improves subjective symptoms of diabetic neuropathy.
