Kidney Structural Abnormalities in Early Diabetes

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the kidney structural abnormalities in early diabetes. An estimate of the mass of peripheral basement membrane in a glomerulus can be obtained by estimating an average membrane thickness as it appears on section. In an experiment described in the chapter, it was found that the distribution of these measurements covered a very wide range, indicating a large variation in basement membrane within one glomerular cross section. It was also regularly seen that the distribution curves were skewed to the right. To compare mean values in different groups of patients, the curves were transformed to a symmetrical distribution, replacing basement membrane thickness and calculating a mean for these distributions. The results obtained in different groups of diabetics and in controls and the age range of the series are presented in the chapter. It was found that mesangial size, relative to any other glomerular space, varied within the same range in normals and in juvenile diabetics of all groups.