High Incidence of Impaired Glucose Tolerance in Spinal Cord Injuries

Abstract

Glucose intolerance occurs frequently in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). To clarify this better, 24 patiens with spinal cord injuries received an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and the causal relationships between glucose tolerance and body fat composition were analyzed. More than 50% of SCI patients had elevated plasma insulin levels, although the subjects were not obese, suggesting adipose tissue resistance to endogenous insulin.