One of the unsolved problems of diabetes management is early detection of the disease. Now, a simple eye examination may enable physicians to detect the presence of a diabetic condition in some patients earlier than hitherto has been possible, a Haifa, Israel, physician told the fifth congress of the International Diabetes Federation.
H. Wolfsohn, MD, told the Toronto meeting that microaneurysms of the conjunctiva, which occur frequently in diabetics, were also seen in a group of 123 apparently nondiabetic persons visiting a Haifa eye clinic. The group comprised about 10% of the number of patients consulting the clinic; 69 were men and 54 were women.
Of the group, about half showed a normal glucose tolerance curve after loading, while one-fourth exhibited a frankly abnormal curve. The results were inconclusive in the remaining 25%. There was a positive family history of diabetes in 49 of the 123 patients.
The group was