NO DECREASED ERYTHROCYTE DEFORMABILITY IN TYPE-1 (INSULIN-DEPENDENT) DIABETES, EITHER BY FILTRATION OR BY EKTACYTOMETRY

A lower erythrocyte deformability, which causes impairment of the micr ocirculation, is postulated to contribute to diabetic organ complicati ons. Erythrocyte deformability was measured in four groups of type 1 ( insulin-dependent) diabetic subjects and 30 controls by filtration and ektacytometry. Twenty-five patients without organ complications, 21 w ith microalbuminuria, 13 with overt nephropathy and 12 with leg ulcera tion were studied. No decreased erythrocyte deformability was found in any of the diabetic groups with either technique, and neither did the total group of 71 diabetic subjects have a lower erythrocyte deformab ility when compared with the controls. In order to imitate local condi tions in the kidney, erythrocyte deformability was also measured in hy perosmolar solutions. Again no differences were found between the diab etic groups separately or as a whole and the controls. Furthermore no correlation was found between erythrocyte deformability and the plasma glucose or glycosylated haemoglobin level.