Capillary Microaneurysms in the Human Diabetic Heart

RETINAL microaneurysms and thickening of the capillary basement membrane are the hallmarks of diabetic small-vessel disease.1 2 3 4 Microaneurysms of retinal vessels in patients with long-standing diabetes mellitus4 contribute to the development of diabetic proliferative retinitis and subsequent visual impairment.5 Although generally not as well known, microaneurysms have also been described in glomerular capillaries.6 , 7 Paradoxically, although thickening and proliferation of the capillary basement membrane in diabetic patients is a generalized phenomenon described in many organs, including the heart,2 , 8 9 10 diabetic capillary microaneurysms have not been reported in organs other than the eye and kidney.During a post-mortem injection study of the human cardiac . . .