Dietary myo-Inositol and Diabetic Neuropathy

Abstract

A marked decrease in motor nerve conduction velocities can be demonstrated within days following the spontaneous development of hyperglycemia in man (1,2) or following the induction of experimental diabetes in the rat (3). When insulin therapy is instituted, this abnormality is promptly restored towards normal in both man and rodent. The rapidity of such fluctuations in peripheral nerve function has led to speculation that the neuropathy associated with early diabetes may be the consequence of acute biochemical alterations within the nerve which result from exposure of this tissue to elevated ambient glucose concentrations.