Pigmented Pretibial Patches

The observation was made that patients with diabetes mellitus frequently present a pigmented cutaneous pattern of the pretibial areas. This pattern is characterized by brown pigmented patches and macules and round or oval atrophic, depressed lesions. To test the validity of this observation, 100 diabetic and 100 nondiabetic patients under the age of 45 were examined. The occurrence of these pretibial pigmented patches and atrophic lesions in patients with diabetes mellitus is statistically significant. The histopathology of these lesions is discussed.