Hypercortisolism and Insulin Resistance: Comparative Effects of Prednisone, Hydrocortisone, and Dexamethasone on Insulin Binding of Human Erythrocytes*

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We have studied the effects of 3 days of hydrocortisone (30 mg every 8 h), dexamethasone (1 mg every 8 h), and prednisone (7.5 mg every 8 h) ingestion on glucose intolerance and insulin resistance in three groups of lean normal volunteers and compared these parameters to specific insulin binding in erythrocytes. All three glucocorticoids caused significant reduction of glucose tolerance as assessed by glucose and insulin areas under oral glucose tolerance test curves and insulin sensitivity in response to 0.1 U insulin/kg BW, iv. Although both hydrocortisone and dexamethasone caused significant reduction in insulin binding compared to that during the pretreatment period (11.0 ± 0.7 us. 9.0 ± 0.5% (P < 0.01) and 11.8 ± 0.7 us. 9.0 ± 0.5% (P J Clin Endocrinol Metab55: 910, 1982)