Кlimenko P. Structural and ultrastructural peculiarities of the microcirculatory bed of the eye bulbar conjunctiva in aging diabetes melitus.

A complex electron microscopic, ultracytochemical and morphometric investigation has been conducted with the aim of studying peculiarities of the aging of the microcirculatory bed (MCB) of the eye bulbar conjunctiva (BC). The study included seven age groups of human subjects (20 to 89 years of age) and patients suffering from diabetes mellitus, type I and type II, of the respective age groups. The study also involved the guinea pigs (aged 6 and 30 months). The results of investigation have shown that in aging there develop both, destructive and adaptive processes in the MCB of the BC, ensuring maintenance of capillary function. The direction of changes is identical in all study groups. However they differ in terms of character, tempo and intensity of their onset. In DM, the dystrophic and destructive processes are observed already in young age. They are more demonstrative and, not infrequently, irreversible. There have been established the peculiarities of structural changes in the MCB of the BC in diabetes mellitus (DM) of various types. Thus the most pro-nounced changes were observed in DM type I: the dys-trophic and destructive changes of endothelial cells and pericytes were registered after age 20, while in the cases of DM type II they were developing after 40 years. Among the final changes in DM, mentioning should be made of the cellular endothelium peeling and basal membrane denudation which are generally observed in physiological aging. In DM type I, a marked decrease was noticed in the intensity of cytochemical reaction to alkaline phosphatase.