CORNEAL EPITHELIAL BASEMENT-MEMBRANE CHANGES IN DIABETES

Abstract

The corneas of 12 eye donors with maturity-onset diabetes were obtained and the corneal epithelial basement membranes studied by transmission electron microscopy. Similar tissue was obtained from 12 nondiabetic eye donors who were matched for age (within 2 yr) and race. The mean thickness of the corneal epithelial basement membrane in nondiabetic patients was 0.33 .mu.m (.+-. 0.11 SD), which gives a normal range of 0.11-0.55 .mu.m. None of the nondiabetic basement membranes lay outside this range. The basement membranes of 4 of the 12 diabetics exceeded this thickness. No race or sex difference was seen in basement membrane thickness nor was a clear trend seen with age. Multilaminated basement membranes were in 8 diabetic patients and 6 nondiabetic patients. Multilamination was more clearly related to basement membrane thickness than to the presence or absence of diabetes.