Impaired somatostatin response to orally administered glucose in type II diabetes entails both somatostatin-28 and -14 and is associated with deranged metabolic control.

UNLABELLED

We have investigated the effects of hyperglycemia in Type II diabetic patients on the somatostatin response to oral glucose. In these patients hyperglycemia prevailed (11.8 +/- 1.4 mmol/l) and was markedly increased to a maximum of 18.9 +/- 1.0 mmol/l following the ingestion of 75 g of glucose. The rise in blood glucose following glucose ingestion failed to induce a rise in plasma levels of somatostatin-like immunoreactivity. Biostator-regulated insulin infusion normalized fasting levels of blood glucose and reduced the hyperglycemia following glucose ingestion, i.e. blood glucose now rose from 4.6 +/- 0.1 to a maximum of 7.3 +/- 0.8 mmol/l. This moderate rise in blood glucose was accompanied by a significant (p less than 0.05) rise in somatostatin-like immunoreactivity. Somatostatin-28 and somatostatin-14 were separated using a Sephadex G-50 fine column. Biostator treatment suppressed plasma levels of both peptides during fasting conditions. Treatment was also accompanied by a rise in both peptides during the first hour following glucose ingestion; this rise did not occur in the untreated state.

IN CONCLUSION

lack of somatostatin response to glucose in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus is associated with deranged metabolic control. Unresponsiveness to glucose entails the secretion of both somatostatin-28 and -14.