Vascular Reactivity in Experimental Diabetes Mellitus.

• Peripheral vascular disease is often associated with diabetes mellitus in man. The nature of the processes which lead to the development of this vascular pathology are not understood. A possible explanation for the appearance of the vascular disease might be that the diabetic becomes abnormally sensitive to the vasoconstrictor effects of the endogenous catecholamines, epinephrine and norepinephrine. An increase in responsiveness of the peripheral vessels to catecholamines could result from an impairment in function of the sympathetic fibers which innervate these vessels, i.e., the lesion might finally result in a condition analogous to denervation sensitization. The clinical observation that diabetes may induce neuropatfiy of the sympathetic nervous system ' 3 lends support to the present hypothesis.