NAILFOLD CAPILLARY ABNORMALITY AND MICROANGIOPATHY IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES-MELLITUS

Patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) show nailfold capillary abnormali ties, while correlation with microangiopathy still remains controversi al. We investigated the possible correlation between nailfold capillar y abnormality and diabetic microangiopathy. We studied forty-three pat ients with NIDDM using capillary microscopy. Diabetic capillary patter n was defined using canonical discriminant analysis, comparing it with 50 normal controls (NL). Twenty-six patients with DM (60%) could be d ifferentiated from normal controls by our definition of DM pattern. Of microangiopathic findings, creatinine clearance and urinary beta 2-mi croglobulin correlated with diabetic type capillary pattern. In additi on, age at onset, decrease of blood flow and body mass index correlate d significantly with diabetic pattern capillary abnormalities. Our res ults suggest that we patients with DM, but this correlates only with t he nephropathic findings.