[Basal blood level of adrenocorticotropic hormone in diabetes mellitus patients].

A study was carried out on the basal blood level of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in 355 patients with diabetes mellitus by a radioimmunologic method. A significant though quantitatively slight elevation of its average value was established versus that of the healthy controls. The changes established reveal a light dependence on sex, age, duration of the disease, type of diabetes, kind of medicamentosus treatment and blood sugar level. No correlation was also established between the hormonal changes and the vasculardegenerative complications with the exception of its insignificantly higher average value in the patients with proliferative retinopathy. The compensation of diabetes leads to normalization of the hormonal level.