Abstract
It is well known that adrenal corticosteroids have many biological effects on the carbohydrate metabolism.
However, the mechanism of corticosteroids on carbohydrate metabolism has not been completely clarified and remains to be studied.
In the present investigation, it was intended to study the effects of dietary carbohydrates on the experimental steroid diabetes induced by Ingles method in which 10 mg of cortisone was administered to rats daily. Furthermore, the effect of anabolic steroid (Oxymetholone-HMD) on steroid diabetes was studied.
In this experiment, rats were divided into two groups, namely 1) rats fed with customary diet 2) rats forcedly fed with high carbohydrate diet. In the case of customary feeding, the rats were fed with 18.0 g of commerical diet (Oriental Co. LTD.) daily containing 9.47 g of carbohydrate, 0.99 g of fat and 4.36 g of protein. In the second group, they were forcedly fed by a gastric tube with the solution containing 17.08 g of carbohydrate, 2.76 g of fat and 5.94 g of protein.
During the experimental period, fasting blood sugar level, urinary glucose excretion and body weight were determined. The glucose tolerance test was performed using 10 cc of 20% glucose solution just before, one week and two weeks after cortisone administration.
The results of this experiment are summarized as follows :
1) In both customary and high carbohydrate diet groups, it was ascertained that the fasting blood sugar level increased late in the experimental period (10 to 14 days after cortisone administration). The rise of blood sugar level was slight in the customary diet group, but in the high carbohydrate diet group a marked rise in the blood sugar level was noticed.
The group fed with the high carbohydrate diet alone, showed a rise of fasting blood sugar level early in the experimental period (2 to 4 days) and then returned to normal late in the experimental period.
2) Urinary glucose was not shown in the customary diet group during the whole experimtal period in spite of the cortisone administration. In the group fed with high carbohydrate diet alone, urinary glucose was temporarily seen early in the experimental period. When cortisone was administered to the group fed with high carbohydrate diet, glucose excretion in the urine increased more remarkably late in the experimental period than in the rats fed with high cardohydrate diet alone.
3) The hyperglycemic effect of cortisone in the high carbohydrate diet group was inhibited completely by simultaneous administration with anabolic steroid. Urinary glucose excretion was inhibited also completely by simultaneous administration of two agents. In the high carbohydrate diet group treated with anabolic steroid, fasting blood sugar level decreased, but a little glucosuria was seen in some animals.
4) A remarkable dercrease in body weight was observed in both groups fed with high carbohydrate diet and customary diet after cortisone administration. However, the decrease in body weight was inhibited by the combined administration of anabolic steroid steroid and cortisone. On the other hand, the boy weight increased considerably in the high carbohydrate diet group after anabolic steroid administion.
5) The glucose tolerance of rats fed with the customary diet lowered considerably after administration of cortisone and in the animals administered with cortisone and anabolic steroid simultaneously, glucose tolerance lowered one week but returned to normal two weeks later.
