Abstract
The pathogenesis of diabetic microangiopathy (Dma) is related not only to the metabolic control and the duration of diabetes but also to the microcirculatory disturbance. In this study the variation in blood viscoelasticity (VE) was observed in 12 nomral individuals and 54 diabetics to elucidate its pathogenetic role in the development of Dma. VE of anti-coagulated blood was measured with an OP-Rheometer (Iwamoto Seisakusho Co. Ltd.) at hematocrit level 40%, and dynamic elastic modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G′′) were used as indices of VE. The following results were obtained. 1) In patients with retinopathy G′ was elevated even in mild cases (Scott classification, stage I) and G′′ was increased in advanced retinopathy (stage III) compared with normals. 2) In patients with nephropathy, there were an inverse relation between VE and creatinine clearance, and a positive relation between VE and the amount of proteinuria. 3) In patients with neuropathy, VE was negatively correlated with the coefficient of variation of the R-R interval on ECG. The abnormality in VE was closely related to the severity of Dma, and it is concluded that this change in VE might play an important role in the development of Dma.
