STUDIES ON INSULIN ANTAGONISM IN PLASMA

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Abstract
ONE group of diabetic patients, besides having hyperglycemia and glycosuria, usually develop ketosis and rapidly lose weight unless given insulin treatment. In a study of the plasma-insulin activity in these patients it has been shown that if the blood sugar is elevated at the time of the test no plasma-insulin activity is found. Moreover, when insulin is added to the plasma of these patients in vitro, its activity is apparently inhibited (1). When such patients are controlled, however, plasma-insulin activity is found essentially in the normal range and now the activity of added insulin is not diminished. It seemed more likely that the inhibition reported in these patients was hormonal in origin rather than due to antibodies, as these diabetics were receiving up to but usually less than 100 units of insulin daily. This indicates no insulin resistance in the accepted sense of the term and also there were no allergic manifestations. Moreover, several severely diabetic patients had such plasma-insulin antagonism before they had ever had any insulin treatment.