[Diabetic pre-retinopathy]

In 169 out of 409 diabetic patients without any ophthalmoscopically or biomicroscopically visible retinal changes, typical symptoms of diabetic pre-retinopathy were revealed by fluorescein angiography: capillary dilatation (89.3%), capillary occlusion (78.7%), leakage from small blood vessels (54.4%) and arteriovenous shunts (40.8%). No correlation was found between the duration of the diabetes mellitus and the onset of diabetic pre-retinopathy. Juvenile diabetics developed significantly more capillary occlusions, while in diabetics of advanced age capillary occlusions and leakage from small vessels were encountered with almost equal frequency.