Microangiopathy in human diabetic neuropathy: relationship between capillary abnormalities and the severity of neuropathy

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Abstract
Clinical, electrophysiological and ultrastractural morphometric observations were made in 5 diabetic non-neuropathic patients, 5 diabetic patients with mild neuropathy and 11 diabetic patients with severe neuropathy. Capillary abnormalities were assessed in simultaneous nerve, muscle and skin biopsies and compared with results from 6 age-matched, non-diabetic control subjects. Nerve capillaries demonstrated markedly greater pathology than skin and muscle capillaries. Endoneurial capillary density was significantly reduced in severely neuropathic diabetic patients (ppppppppp1 levels with capillary pathology or with neuropathic severity. Very few abnormalities of muscle and skin correlated with neuropathic severity. However, all measures of nerve capillary pathology correlated significantly with neurophysiological and neuropathological measures of neuropathic severity.