[Early diagnosis of microangiopathy in infantile diabetes (author's transl)]

The authors have carried out fluorescein angiography in infantile diabetics--negative by ophthalmoscopy,--looking for the earliest symptoms of microangiopathy. The study concerned 161 diabetics in the age between 3-18, and 50 non-diabetic children in the same age. There is no significant difference between diabetics and control-group in the frequency of symptoms, described in literature as early signs of microangiopathy, as multiple capillary-, and peripapillary-filling and early venous dilatation. Increased capillary filling was found at anxious children with strained cervical muscles during the examination. In 54% of the 161 diabetic patients-negative by ophthalmoscopy,-solitary or multiple microaneurysms were found fluorescence angiographically. The increase of number of the microaneurysms is correlated to the duration of the diabetics and advance in age. In the authors opinion the presence of microaneurysms is in some cases due to genetic factors and is independent from the metabolic changes of diabetes.