Rational pharmacotherapy of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a view of a clinical pharmacologist
Zhuravleva M.V.^1,2, Gorodetskaya G.I.^1,2, Prokofev A.B.^1,2, Kukes V.G.^1,2, Archipov V.V.^1,2, Ponomarenko T.M.², Krasnykh L.M.^1,2, Rodina T.A.^1,2, Serebrova S.U.^1,2, Shikh E.V.^1,2, Sokolov A.V.<sup>1,2

1</sup> Scientific Centre for Expert Evaluation of Medicinal Products, Moscow 
² First Moscow State Medical University named after I.M. Sechenov

The number of patients with diabetes is steadily growing in the world. One of the most frequent complications of diabetes is the development of diabetic neuropathy. Currently, there are the following basic strategies of diabetic neuropathy treatment: tight glycaemic control, control of other risk factors, symptomatic therapy, including symptomatic therapy of chronic pain with anticonvulsants and antidepressants, and pathogenetic therapy aimed at slowing the progression of nerve damage.
To improve the quality of medical care for patients with DPN, the drugs for tight glycaemic control, correction of risk factors and symptomatic therapy, can be used in complex with the drugs containing alpha-lipoic acid (ALA), which have the largest evidence base among the drugs of pathogenetic therapy. However, as it turned out, there are big differences in the bioavailability of various oral ALA preparations, and only those with a rapid release of the active substance can be compared in their characteristics with ALA preparations for parenteral administration.

Key words: diabetic peripheral neuropathy, neuropathic pain, alpha-lipoic acid.
For citation: Zhuravleva M.V., Gorodetskaya G.I., Prokofev A.B. et al. Rational pharmacotherapy of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: a view of a clinical pharmacologist // RMJ. 2017. № 25. P. 1863–1867.