Epalrestat

An aldose reductase inhibitor (IC50s = 0.01 and 0.26 µM for rat lens and human placenta aldose reductase, respectively); inhibits glucose-induced sorbitol accumulation in isolated rat lens, rat sciatic nerve, and human erythrocytes (IC50s = 1.5, 5, and 1.5 µM, respectively); decreases high glucose-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells at 10 nM and prevents high glucose-induced intracellular NADH/NAD+ increases and membrane-bound PKC activation at 100 nM; improves motor nerve conduction velocity and decreases sorbitol content in the sciatic nerve and erythrocytes in a rat model of streptozotocin-induced diabetic neuropathy at 20 and 40 mg/kg; prevents capillary strand formation in a rat model of diabetes-induced retinal microangiopathy at 50 mg/kg