METABOLIC HOMEOSTASIS IN JUVENILE DIABETES MELLITUS .1. ROLE OF GROWTH HORMONE

Intravenous arginine provocative tests were performed in 23 children with juvenile onset diabetes mellitus and the results compared with those obtained in a control group of 19 normal children. Fasting growth hormone concentrations were similar in the two groups, and the mean peak response following the arginine stimulation was almost identical. Although the blood glucose levels rose higher in the diabetic group following arginine stimulation, the percent change of glucose was found to be the same in diabetics as in normals. Plasma FFA changes were consistent with the diabetic child's state of insulin deficiency. These data indicate that the child with diabetes mellitus responds in a normal fashion to an arginine provocation. No evidence of abnormal secretion or of an exaggerated responsiveness to the endogenous growth hormone was detected. © 1969.