OBSERVATIONS ON ETIOLOGY + THERAPY OF BRITTLE DIABETES

  • 1 January 1964
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 90  (16) , 953-+
Abstract
Salient aspects of prolonged metabolic studies on 7 excessively labile diabetic patients and a review of the literature concerning causation and therapy of brittle diabetes are presented. Brittleness is redefined as "a syndrome of excessive insulin-sensitivity and ketosis-proneness manifested by extreme and unexplain-able short-term and long-term fluctuations in the parameters of the disease". Evidence on the causation of hyperlability points to dysfunction of plasma-protein transport and of hepatic and peripheral tissue metabolism of insulin. No objectively demonstrable complete and lasting stabilization was possible by means of any antidiabetic or adjunctive therapeutic measures. However, achievement of quantitative improvement in the accuracy of regulation of diabetes and moderation in deviations from the acceptable range of parameters were feasible.