PATHOGENESIS OF DIABETIC NEUROPATHY

Diabetes mellitus affects over 14 million people in the United Stales and the number of diabetics is increasing by 5% per year. Diabetic neu ropathy (DN) is a common complication of diabetes and occurs in approx imately 50% of diabetic patients over time. Clinical trials have prove n that hyperglycemia almost certainly conditions the development of DN . Despite this fact, we still do not understand the mechanism(s) under lying DN. Several possible etiologies have been proposed including alt ered metabolism of polyol, lipids, or amino acids, vascular insufficie ncy, increased superoxide-induced free radical formation, evidence sug gests that these defects are likely interrelated and that their intera ction(s) within the diabetic milieu are responsible for the developmen t and progression of DN. In this review we will discuss these begin to explain the etiology of DN. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.