Abstract:

The diabetic neuropathy common in patients with diabetic nephropathy mainly includes the diabetic peripheral neuropathy, diabetic autonomic neuropathy, and especially neurogenic bladder. Its treatment by western medicine can be divided into etiological treatment and symptomatic treatment. The etiological treatment includes controlling blood glucose, nerve repair, anti-oxidative stress, improving microcirculation, and improving metabolism and nerve nutrition. Symptomatic treatment mainly focuses on treating patients' pain, gastroparesis, constipation, diarrhea, and neurogenic bladder. By syndrome differentiation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the diagnosis of diabetic peripheral neuropathy belongs to “diabetes arthralgia” category, which includes blood stasis due to qi deficiency, blood stasis due to yin deficiency, blood stasis due to cold, phlegm-stasis blocking collateral, and liver-kidney deficiency syndromes. The treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy by TCM includes dialectical options of Chinese medicine decoctions and Chinese patent drugs, steaming and washing methods, acupuncture therapy, and iontophoresis therapy. The diagnosis and treatment of diabetic autonomic neuropathy by TCM belong to syndromes of vomiting,feeling of fullness,constipation,diarrhea,palpitations,retention of urine,stranguria due to overstrain, and hidrosis.

Key words: Diabetes, Neuropathy, Integrative Chinese and western medicine, Diagnosis, Treatment