Food intake in diabetic rats: relationship to metabolic effects of insulin treatment.

Hyperphagic streptozotocin-diabetic rats were given week-long treatment with 0 (vehicle), 3, or 6 U/rat/day of regular insulin via a SC osmotic pump. Insulin reduced urinary glucose excretion and plasma glucose and increased body weight in a dose-related manner starting on the first day of treatment. Insulin treatment also increased carcass weight, carcass fat, and liver glycogen within 3 days. Food intake did not decrease until the fifth day of insulin treatment, and this change was unrelated to the amount of insulin administered. These results show that the effects of insulin on food intake and metabolism of diabetic rats can be dissociated with respect to both time course and dose of insulin. The findings indicate that hypoinsulinemia, glycosuria, body weight loss, and depletion of body fat and liver glycogen are symptoms of diabetes, not causes of diabetic hyperphagia.