Multiple clinical and experimental studies demonstrate that diabetes mellitus induces basement membrane thickening across various tissues, particularly in target organs like the kidneys and peripheral nerves, although some short-term animal models may not immediately replicate this finding in skeletal muscle.
The retrieved literature overwhelmingly supports the claim that diabetes mellitus causes basement membrane thickening, citing it as a classic hallmark of diabetic microvascular complications, diabetic nephropathy, and neuropathy. Multiple review articles and empirical studies (e.g., papers 0, 3, 4, 6, 11) confirm GBM and perineurial basement membrane thickening. One study (paper 8) notes a lack of thickening in muscle capillaries during early short-duration experimental diabetes, representing a partial contrary or null condition in a specific tissue and timeframe, but does not overturn the broad consensus of systemic microvascular basement membrane thickening established across the remaining evidence.