[Clinical x-ray studies of arterial calcifications in the lower extremities of diabetics].
The authors studied the X-ray grams of soft tissues of the lower limbs of 120 patients with diabetes mellitus--54 males and 66 females and 42 control subjects (18 males and 24 females). The average age of the latter was 56.3 and of the patient--52. According to their characteristic the calcifications were localized in intima (spotted) and in media (linear). Besides localization, the extend (whole artery or partial) and degree (light, pronounced) of calcifications were determined. Mediocalcinosis in the arteries of lower limbs of diabetics was established to be almost four times more frequent than that among the controls, the arteries of the thighs, legs and foot being equally affected. In 1/3 of the cases the whole vascular system of the lower limbs was involved, being more frequent in males, as compared with females, with a statistical significance, and correlated significantly with age and duration of the disease. Mediocalcinosis was more frequent with statistical significance, in patients, treated with sulfonylurea preparations. Attempt was made to explain that fact, besides by the older age of those patients with some humoral and hormonal characteristics of diabetes of the elderly, sensitive to SU preparations namely: the presence of hyperlipoproteinemia, hypersomatotropism and relative hyperinsulinism, favouring the proliferation of the cells of media and deposition of calcium salts in it. No statistically significant correlation was found between the incidence of mediocalcinosis on the one hand and the type of diabetes, severity of the disease, occupation, past infections, the presence of hypertension, obesity, retinopathy and disorders of lipid metabolism--on the other.