Modifications of glucose storage and oxidation in nonobese diabetics, measured by continuous indirect calorimetry.

A new application of continuous indirect calorimetry is described for measuring the disposal of a glucose load. In a group of 10 normal subjects, 3 h after a 100 g oral glucose load, 20 g glucose was oxidized at basal rate, 19 g in response to the load and 63 g stored, while a decrease of 2 g was observed in the glucose space (GS). In a group of four type I, insulin-dependent diabetics, both glucose oxidation (9 g at the basal rate and 4 g in response to the load) and glucose storage (9 g) were markedly decreased, with the remainder either being lost in the urine (36 g) or remaining in the glucose space (42 g). In a group of eight nonobese type II, non-insulin-dependent diabetics, glucose oxidation both in the basal rate and in response to the load was slightly decreased (13 and 14 g, respectively) and glucose storage decreased to 40 g. These results suggest that, in type I diabetics, complete insulin deficiency seriously impairs two major mechanisms regulating glucose homeostasis, i.e., glucose storage and oxidation, while, in type II diabetics, the remaining insulin secretion attentuates these disturbances.