title: [Effect of liuwei dihuang pill on erythrocyte aldose reductase activity in early diabetic nephropathy patients].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To observe the inhibitory effect of Liuwei Dihuang Pill (LDP) on erythrocyte aldose reductase (EAR) activity in early diabetic nephropathy (DN) patients and to explore the clinical significance of applying LDP in prevention and treatment of DN as an inhibitor of aldose reductase.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-two patients diagnosed as early DN with TCM Syndrome of both Qi-yin deficiency were randomly divided into the control group (31 patients) treated by conventional therapy (orally taken Gliquidone or injection of insulin) and the treated group (41 patients) treated by conventional therapy plus LDP for 3 months as one therapeutic course. Changes of symptoms, physical signs, fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood glucose 2 hrs post breakfast (2hPBG), blood total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), EAR activity, urinary albumin excretion rate (UAER), blood and urinary beta2-microglobulin (beta2-MG) in patients before and after treatment were observed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LDP could improve the symptoms and signs of patients with DN, it could significantly inhibit EAR activity, to make it significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05), and the levels of UAER, beta2-MG in blood and urine in the treated group after treatment were obviously lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05), and LDP showed no apparent effect on blood glucose, lipids and mean arterial pressure (P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  LDP could obviously inhibit the activity of EAR in patients with early DN, improve various indexes of DN, so as to be helpful for its treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, Fifth People's Hospital, Shenyang 110023. chenqiang3167@sina.com
authors.forename: Xiao-Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiao-Yan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Qi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000449:Aldehyde Reductase / Q000378:metabolism*; D003928:Diabetic Nephropathies / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000201:enzymology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional; D008875:Middle Aged; D008517:Phytotherapy
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C042579:Liuwei Dihuang Decoction; D000449:Aldehyde Reductase