[The symptoms of diabetes mellitus in different age groups (author's transl].

The most important forms of diabetes mellitus are the juvenile onset diabetes (JOD) with primary lack of insulinsecretion and the maturity onset diabetes (MOD) with a progressive lack of insulinsecretion. In the higher age groups one can also find diabetesforms, which need high daily insulin doses, such as cases with insulin-antibodies, with insulin antagonistic hormons and with insulin allergy. Another form of diabetes mellitus in the old age group needing high daily amounts of insulin is due to the reduction of insulin receptors in the peripheric cells. The connection of diabetes mellitus with other risiko-factors and the possibility of virusinfections producing diabetes mellitus are discussed.