Significance of neuron-specific enolase in diabetic patients with neuropathy

We report here the determination of the levels of an isoenzyme of enolase specific for neurons (NSE) particularly detected in nervous system disorders We investigated whether NSE levels could be used in the diagnosis of diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy, and whether there is a relationship between the levels of NSE and HbA(1c) in diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy or without any complication and in healthy individuals. The mean NSE levels of diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy, non-complicated diabetic patients and healthy individuals were 11.12 +/- 3.20 mu g L(-1), 8.83 +/- 2.00 mu g L(-1) and 8.82 +/- 1.76 mu g L(-1), respectively. A significant increase was observed in the case of diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy when the serum NSE levels of these patients were compared with the levels of non-complicated diabetic patients and healthy individuals. Therefore, our results show that serum NSE determination could be a useful tool in determining the level of neuronal injury and in choosing the type of therapy in diabetic patients with peripheral neuropathy