The clinical curative effects of duloxetine combined with thioctic acid on diabetic painful peripheral neuropathy

Abstract

Objective To investigate the clinical curative effects of duloxetine combined with thioctic acid on diabetic painful peripheral neuropathy. Methods Sixty-two patients with diabetic painful peripheral neuropathy were divided into three groups by random digits table: group A(22 patients, duloxetine combined with thioctic acid group), group B (20 patients,duloxetine group) and group C (20 patients,thioctic acid group). The other treatments were same. All patients were treated for six weeks. The pain remission level and nerve conductive velocity were compared among three groups. Results The pain level in three groups was significantly alleviated after treatment (P ＜ 0.01 ). The general effective rate was 86.4%(19/22),70.0% (14/20) and 50.0% (10/20) in group A,group B and group C,respectively (P ＜ 0.05). Visual analogue scales (VAS) in group A was significantly lower than that in group B and group C from the second week after treatment (P ＜ 0.05 ). Nerve conductive velocity was improved in both group A and group C after treatment (P＜0.01),but there was no significant difference between two groups (P＞0.05). In group B,compared with that before treatment,nerve conductive velocity had no significantly improved after treatment (P＞ 0.05). Conclusion Duloxetine combined with thioctic acid can enhance the clinical curative effects on diabetic painful peripheral neuropathy. Key words: Diabetic neuropathies; Thioctic acid; Duloxetine