Mechanical properties of the diabetic waxy skin

Abstract

Background: In some diabetic patients, the skin of the hands has a waxy appearance.

Objective: To study subclinical skin stiffening in diabetic patients using a noninvasive, in vivo suction device measuring skin extensibility and elasticity. Skin thickness was also measured by high-resolution ultrasonography.

Methods: Evaluations were made on the dorsum of the hands and on the volar aspect of the forearms.

Results: In type 1 diabetic patients, the extensibility of skin was decreased while values of thickness and elasticity were increased. These alterations were most prominent on the hands. Similar modifications, although less pronounced, were also found in type 2 diabetic subjects.

Conclusion: The reported biomechanical changes indicate the presence of subclinical skin stiffening in many patients with diabetes mellitus. Such noninvasive biometrological evaluations could be used for monitoring, rating and correlating some diabetes-associated disorders.