Clinical effect of epalrestat combined with methylcobalamin in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy

Abstract

Objective To explore the clinical effect of epalrestat combined with methylcobalamin in the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Methods 88 patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy were chosen from September 2014 to September 2016 in our hospital.The patients were randomly divided into two groups, The control group was treated with conventional treatment, the observation group was given epalrestat combined with methylcobalamin based on the conventional treatment.The effect of the two groups was compared. Results The total effective rate of the observation group was 95.5%(42/44), which was significantly higher than 70.5%(31/44) of the control group, the difference was statistically significant(χ2=9.029, P=0.007). Before treatment, the median nerve and common peroneal nerve sensory conduction velocity betweem two groups had no significant differences (t=0.293, 0.920, P=0.704, 0.096). After treatment, the median nerve conduction velocity and peroneal nerve total sensory conduction velocity in the observation group were (46.2±4)m/s, (42.4±6.3)m/s, which were significantly higher than those in the control group(t=9.038, 7.039, P=0.001, 0.004). Conclusion Epalrestat combined with methylcobalamin in the treatment of patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy can effectively improve the nerve conduction velocity. Key words: Epalrestat; Mecobalamin; Diabetic peripheral neuropathy; Nerve conduction velocity