DIABETIC SCLERODACTYLY

Sclerodactyly is a chronic skin disorder seen together with long-term degenerative microvascular complications of diabetes mellitus, In this study, the relationship between sclerodactyly and various clinical an d laboratory characteristics of diabetes mellitus have been investigat ed, One hundred and forty-two diabetic patients (63 type 1 and 79 type 2) and 72 healthy controls were evaluated clinically. Among the 142 d iabetic patients, skin biopsies were taken from 21; 38 underwent soft tissue X-ray examination and 78 underwent periungual capillaroscopy. A mong the healthy controls those with sclerodactyly were on the average 12 years older than those without (T:3.38; P < 0.01). On the other ha nd, among the patients with either type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus the ages were similar between those with and without sclerodactyly. Th ere were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of diabetic complications, The presence of complications, increased prox imal nail fold capillarity, HbA(1c) levels, radiological and histopath ological findings were not different among those patients who had oi d id not have sclerodactyly.