Counter-Regulation of Basal Insulin Secretion During Alcohol Hypoglycemia in Diabetic and Normal Subjects

Abstract

To determine (1) whether differences in insulin levels, and (2) the presence of diabetes mellitus influenced the hypoglycemie response to alcohol, immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and glucose levels were measured during alcohol infusion in twenty obese and thin subjects with normal and mildly abnormal carbohydrate tolerance after a preparatory three-day fast. Despite small differences in the rates of decline of glucose, IRI fell promptly, and were indistinguishable when the subjects were grouped according to both glucose tolerance and weight. These findings indicate that the regulation of basal IRI in response to a falling glucose level during ethanol hypoglycemia appears to be intact in both obesity and mild diabetes.