The insulin response to glucose in patients with pancreatic disease.

The insulin response to glucose was studied in twenty-five patients with pancreatic disease, of whom twelve had chronic pancreatitis, five developed glycosuria following an attack of acute pancreatitis and eight had a carcinoma of the pancreas. A low insulin response was found in subjects with frank diabetes mellitus but in the majority of those with chronic pancreatitis the insulin response was prolonged and of normal degree. This suggests that glucose intolerance in these patients is not due to simple insulin deficiency but may be due to the release of an abnormal insulin or to insulin antagonists. All eight patients with carcinoma of the pancreas had a low insulin response to glucose.