REVERSAL BY INSULIN TREATMENT OF ABNORMAL GROWTH HORMONE PATTERN IN NEWLY DIAGNOSED DIABETES MELLITUS

Abstract

ABSTRACT The effect of insulin therapy on growth hormone secretion was studied in five newly diagnosed young insulin-dependent diabetic men. All showed a markedly abnormal pattern of secretion immediately prior to insulin therapy and following "normalization" of the blood glucose there was a significant fall in plasma growth hormone levels after a period of one to two months though these were still considerably elevated above the normal control range. These findings lend support to the view that the abnormal growth hormone secretion observed in diabetes may be the consequence rather than the cause of the disordered carbohydrate metabolism.