ABSTRACT
Disorders of the diabetic skin that contribute to its pathology include microangiopathy and infection, as well as metabolic disturbances of the tissue. These problems cause disease in other parts of the body as well. Consequently, it is important to understand the dermal manifestations of diabetes so one can effectively manage these sometimes common comorbidities. Antibodies and C3 have been found at the dermal/epidermal junction, which suggests a vasculitis, but other features of a leukocyto-clastic vasculitis are not found. Diabetic bullae is most common in patients who have long-term Type II diabetes, and who have developed peripheral neuropathy. Cutaneous infection is the area of diabetic skin disease that is most often thought about although, in fact, well-controlled diabetics probably are no more susceptible to infection than the normal population. Lipodystrophy occurs as a complication of injection, appearing as a circumscribed, depressed area at the site of injection. It used to occur more often before the introduction of purified human insulin.
