Abstract
Serum laminin and type III procollagen peptide (P-III-P) in diabetics was measured by radioimmunoassay methods. Results were analyzed with regard to diabetic microangiopathy, diabetic control and duration. Both serum laminin and P-III-P levels increased with development of diabetic retinopathy and proteinuria. Patients with diabetic microangiopathy but with good diabetic control of short duration showed significantly higher values of both serum laminin and serum P-III-P than did those without diabetic microangiopthy but with poor control of long duration. Most of the former patients had been incorrectly treated with hypoglycemic agents in the past. It is suggested that serum laminin and serum P-III-P may play an important role in the development of diabetic microangiopathy. Furthermore, incorrect use of hypoglycemic agents seems to affect connective tissue metabolism in diabetics.
