A METHOD FOR THE STUDY OF THE DIABETOGENIC ACTIVITY OF PITUITARY GROWTH HORMONE PREPARATIONS IN THE RAT

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Abstract
Conditions were established for the reproducible production of diabetes in the rat by giving anterior pituitary growth hormone. Rats adapted to high carbohydrate tube-feeding and primed with 2.5 mg of cortisone acetate were found suitable for this purpose. Blood glucose level 2 hours after tube-feeding on the 4th and 5th days of combined hormone treatment appeared to be the most sensitive indication of the diabetic response. Once hyper-glycemia was elicited there was a poor correlation between the degree of hyperglycemia and the dose of growth hormone given. A larger dose of growth hormone was necessary to induce glycosuria than hyperglycemia, but increases in the growth hormone dosage elicited more sharp increments in glycosuria than in hyperglycemia. Further study is indicated to determine whether the glycosuric response might be adapted for an assay procedure. The technique was applied with success to the study of the effects of chemical and physical treatments of a growth hormone preparation on its diabetogenic activity.