AKR1B1 and diabetic neuropathy: Metabolic and molecular perturbations of Schwann cells in diabetic neuropathy include high activity of aldose reductase-mediated polyol pathway flux, oxidative stress and inflammation, as well as damage associated with microvascular changes in Schwann cells, all of which result in decreased neurotrophic factors release and the accumulation of neurotoxic intermediates leading to the dysfunction of interactions between Schwann cells and axons and diabetic neuropathy (Gonçalves et al., 2017, 2018; Naruse, 2019).