Intact cross-talk between insulin secretion and insulin action after postgastroplasty recovery of ideal body weight in severely obese patients.

Most reports investigating the hormonal and metabolic effects of bariatric surgery studied obese subjects after partial weight loss only. Nevertheless, all studies showed significant improvements of insulin secretion, action, clearance and inhibition of its own secretion, although the parallel kinetics of all these changes remained questionable. Using the intravenous glucose tolerance test, we demonstrated a full normalization of insulin secretion, action on glucose metabolism and clearance in eight obese women who recovered and maintained ideal body weight following gastroplasty. Reciprocal changes were observed between postglucose acute insulin secretion and insulin-mediated glucose disposal so that the so-called disposition index (product of these two variables) remained unchanged after vs before gastroplasty in those individuals with normal glucose tolerance. These favourable results should encourage obtaining a drastic and sustained weight loss in patients with severe obesity at risk of developing type II diabetes

Clinical Case of the Month. Prolonged Spontaneous Remission of a Typical Type 1 Diabetes

peer reviewe

How to explore insulin sensitivity in man?

The two most widely used methods for studying insulin sensitivity in man are the euglycaemic hyperinsulinaemic clamp and the intravenous glucose tolerance test with minimal model assessment. The glucose clamp is the reference method, well validated and easy to interpret, which allows various extensions to the basic experimental procedure in order to obtain more valuable information on the specific effects of insulin on the various aspects of glucose metabolism. However, it is time-consuming and labour-intensive. In contrast, the intravenous glucose tolerance test is easier to perform, but its interpretation is much more difficult and requires a modeling approach called the "minimal model". If the intravenous glucose tolerance test probably represents a good screening test, mainly on a population basis, the glucose clamp still remains the gold standard method to study insulin sensitivity in man

How I Investigate... A Patient Newly Diagnosed with/or at Risk of Diabetes Type 1

peer reviewe

Glucose metabolism in obese subjects: lessons from OGTT, IVGTT and clamp studies.

Impaired glucose tolerance and overt diabetes are more frequent in presence than in absence of obesity. In obese subjects, glucose tolerance can be maintained within the normal range by compensating for insulin resistance by peripheral hyperinsulinism, the latter resulting from both increased insulin secretion and reduced insulin clearance. Impaired glucose tolerance is observed when insulin resistance is associated to impaired first-phase insulin response, which results in a significant increase in plasma glucose levels and a late insulin hyperresponsiveness. Both hyperinsulinaemia and hyperglycaemia are then able to overcome peripheral insulin resistance and impaired glucose disposal. When a more marked defect in insulin secretion is present, hyperglycaemia progresses, probably due to an additional participation of impaired suppression of hepatic glucose output. Overt diabetes then occurs with persistent post-absorptive hyperglycaemia. All these abnormalities can be reversed after a marked weight loss and recovery of ideal body weight, arguing for acquired rather than inherited metabolic defects in presence of morbid obesity. If a sufficient weight reduction can not be obtained, pharmacological approaches may be considered to improve insulin resistance of obese subjects, especially those with impaired glucose tolerance or overt diabetes