Clinical significance of erythrocyte sorbitol-blood glucose ratios in type II diabetes mellitus.

The polyol pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications. To determine the activity of the polyol pathway, the ratio of erythrocyte sorbitol to blood glucose, which reflects aldose reductase activity, was evaluated in 329 patients with type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and in 100 nondiabetic age-matched control subjects. Although erythrocyte sorbitol levels were markedly elevated, sorbitol-glucose ratios were significantly lower in diabetic patients than in nondiabetic subjects. Sorbitol-glucose ratios in diabetic patients decreased progressively as blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels increased. Sorbitol-glucose ratios were also studied during a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. Ratios were again lower in diabetic patients than those in nondiabetic subjects and significantly decreased 120 min after glucose loading. The ratio in diabetic patients also fell with increasing age of the patients. In diabetic patients with neuropathy, retinopathy, or nephropathy, however, sorbitol-glucose ratios were significantly higher than in those without these complications; ratios increased further as complications became more severe. Our findings suggest that the affinity of aldose reductase for glucose in patients with diabetic complications may be increased and that the polyol pathway is implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications.