Serum insulin-like activity in genetic and experimental diabetes mellitus

A modification of the epididymal fat pad assay for insulin-like activity has been applied to serum from normal subjects, untreated diabetic patients, and dogs with experimentally induced diabetes. Diabetic patients exhibited abnormally elevated serum ILA levels before and after glucose loading, and also demonstrated a delay in their ILA response to glucose. Dogs with experimental diabetes did not show an elevation in their ILA values. Genetically determined diabetes is obviously different from simple insulin deficiency diabetes. The data confirm and extend previous observations that a significant degree of hyperinsulinemia exists in the garden variety of mildly diabetic patients. Unusually high levels of insulin-like activity were found in 7 of 27 apparently normal subjects. Their ILA exceeded at most times the mean of those found in the diabetic patients. Two of these subjects later discovered a family history of diabetes. Some of the implications of these observations are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32090/1/0000140.pd