[The influence of metabolic control on chemotactic activity in insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (author's transl)].

An increased incidence of infections, especially during periods of poor metabolic control is well known in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Therefore, we studied polymorphonuclear chemotaxis and its dependence on the degree of diabetic control in 49 patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in 46 controls. A modification of the chemotaxis assay described by Frei et al. was used as test system. The mean chemotactic activity observed in the total group of insulin-dependent diabetics did not differ from the values obtained in the controls. However, in patients with poor diabetic control and glucosuria exceeding 60 g/24h, a significantly reduced chemotactic leucoyte migration was found. These data indicate that normalization of leucotaxis can be achieved in insulin-dependent diabetes by means of adequate diabetes control.