Electron microscopy of clinically normal skin of diabetic patients.

Clinically normal buttock skin of 20 diabetic and eight control subjects, aged 16-30 years, was examined using electron microscopy. The number of layers of cellular material in vessel walls, external to the endothelial cell was increased in patients with a long duration of diabetes, but was never more than two layers in control subjects. Prominent collagen deposition in the wall of dermal blood vessels was observed only in diabetic skin. No ultrastructural features were significantly related to recent glycaemic control, or with the presence of identified microvascular complications of diabetes. The difficulties involved in the interpretation of electron microscopy of diabetic skin are discussed. Routine electron microscopical examination of clinically normal diabetic skin provides little information of clinical value on an individual basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]