Capillaries of the nailfold of the toe in diabetes mellitus

The nailbed capillaries of the fingers and toes were examined by biomicroscopy in 20 healthy offspring of two diabetic parents (“prediabetics”), in 20 patients with diabetes of long duration, 20 diabetic patients with proliferative retinopathy, and in 20 nondiabetic controls. The capillary loops of the toes were in general shorter and more tortuous than those of the fingers. Congestion of the venular limb of the loops in the toe was more common in the diabetics than in the controls. A “glomerulus” type lesion was found in 16 of the 40 diabetic patients, in one prediabetic, and in none of the controls. This latter lesion was particularly common in the patients with proliferative retinopathy and would appear to be related to diabetic angiopathy rather than to uncomplicated diabetes even of long duration.