Comparison Between Changes in Serum Inorganic Phosphorus Induced by Glucose and Glucagon in Diabetics

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Abstract
Effect of intravenous glucose upon serum inorganic P was compared to that of glucagon in 35 diabetic patients taken at random. The subjects were classified in 2 groups according to their serum phosphate fall following glucose. In a group of 19 patients, the phosphate fall after glucose was less than 0.30 mg/100 ml, and in another group of 16 patients, more than 0.30 mg/100 ml similar to that found in non-diabetic individuals. As a working hypothesis, it was assumed that diabetics with normal phosphate fall are producing insulin. It was found that the group with a normal phosphate fall after glucose showed a greater fall after glucagon than the group with defective phosphate fall. On the other hand, the group with defective or absent phosphate fall after glucose also showed a very definite fall after glucagon. It would seem then that the latter substance exerts a direct effect upon serum inorganic phosphate, independent of the reactive insulin secretion produced by the glucose load. This effect is possibly related to the activation of phos-phorylase which acts in the process of disintegration of glycogen through introduction of phosphate in the bonds existing between the hexose molecules.

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