Dependency of Muscle Capillary Basement Membrane Thickness on the Duration of Diabetes

Skeletal muscle biopsy specimens were obtained for measuring capillary basement membrane width from 63 male patients with juvenile, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and from 17 healthy controls. Each sample was divided into two portions: one fixed in osmium tetroxide and the other in glutaraldehyde. Measurements were made both of average basement membrane width (BMT) using the multiple measurement techniques of Siperstein et al. and of minimum basement membrane width using the technique of Williamson et al. With both methods, basement membrane thickness appeared to be a function of duration of diabetes.