No abstract

Functional diabetic microangiopathy of skin vessels is well known (decreased reactivity of arterioles to various stimuli, increased capillary pressure and permeability). In contrast to conventional capiUaroscopy, recently introduced infrared fluorescence videomicroscopy with indocyanine green allows one to depict capillary aneurysms, even when filled with plasma alone. Seventeen healthy volunteers (mean age 37.7 years), 14 patients with type I diabetes without (31.3 years) and 17 with retinal microaneurysms (46.8 years) were studied. The mean duration of diabetes in patients without retinal microaneurysms was 14.2 years (4-36 years) and in those with retinal microaneurysms 21.5 years (8-49 years). Nailfold capillary aneurysms were present in 3 of 17 healthy controls, in 7 of 14 patients without and in 10 of 17 patients with retinopathy. Patients with type I diabetes with and without retinopathy exhibited significantly more skin microaneurysms (p < 0.05 and < 0.005, respectively) than the controls. The prevalence in the patients with retinal microaneurysms tended to be even higher. Skin capillary aneurysms, which may be depicted in vivo by sophisticated infrared fluorescence videomicroscopy, even when filled by plasma alone, are an important morphological feature of diabetic microangiopathy.