INSULIN RESPONSE TO GLUCOSE INFUSION IN DIABETIC AND NON-DIABETIC MONOZYGOTIC TWIN PAIRS. GENETIC CONTROL OF INSULIN RESPONSE?

Abstract

ABSTRACT The insulin response during a standardized glucose infusion (GIT) was studied in a group of 13 monozygotic twin pairs previously registered as consisting of one diabetic/one non-diabetic member. At the time of the study three of the non-diabetic subjects had developed overt diabetes and three decreased glucose tolerance only. Of the non-diabetic members all but one (with diabetes due possibly to chronic pancreatitis in the sibling) showed an insulin response similar to that seen in diabetic subjects, and in healthy subjects previously assumed to be potential diabetics. The present study therefore supports our earlier suggestion that a low insulin response characterizes potential diabetes. There was a striking similarity between the insulin curves in the twin pairs, irrespective whether diabetes occurred in one, in both or in none of the members. It is suggested as a working hypothesis that the type of insulin response to glucose infusion is genetically determined, and that a low insulin response is a prerequisite for the development of diabetes mellitus.