Glucagon and carbohydrate disorder in a totally pancreatectomized man (a study with the aid of an artificial endocrine pancreas).

The effect of insulin withdrawal and exogenous glucagon infusion upon blood glucose concentration was investigated in a totally pancreatectomized patient with the aid of an artificial endocrine pancreas. Blood glucose remained unchanged at about 100 mg/100 ml, when insulin infusion was stopped, but rose up to 300 mg/100 ml, during a 12-h period of exogenous glucagon infusion at a rate of 3 ng/kg/min. Fractionation of whole plasma on Bio Gel P-30 revealed no immunoreactive glucagon in the region of true glucagon. This study seems to reinforce the hypothesis that true glucagon is essential in the fasting condition at least in the short term to produce hyperglycemia in insulin deprived diabetics.