Isotope Dilution Studies of the Effect of Insulin and Diabetes on Glucose Transfer Rates

Abstract

A review is presented of isotopic dilution and other techniques designed to study the effect of the diabetic state and insulin on glucose transfer rates. Since in man the required blood samples from the liver cannot be obtained, tracer methods remain the sole means of investigating glucose kinetics. A series of techniques involving administration of ¹⁴C-glucose has been devised for this purpose. Critical analysis of these procedures led to a revised concept of the exchangeable body glucose mass; an operational definition recognising delayed intermixing in principle was substituted for attempts to set up models of compartmental structure. Although each tracer technique is beset with certain limitations, methods using either tracer injection or infusion appear to be capable of yielding valid data, if properly selected according to the type of information desired.

Key words

Tracer Methods - Glucose Kinetics - Exchangeable Glucose Mass - ¹⁴C-Glucose - Insulin Effects on Glucose Flux

1 This review was prepared during the tenure of a Medical Research Fellowship of the Medical Research Council of Canada