Residual β-Cell Function Judged from Serum C-Peptide Immunoreactivity (CPR) in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis.

Abstract

In order to determine the B-cell function in the patients with chronic pancreatitis who had glucose intolerance, we measured C-peptide immunoreactivity (CPR) in plasma. In patients with chronic pancreatitis who are insulin requiring diabetics, concentrations of fasting plasma CPR were low as compared with those never treated with insulin. Concerning the CPR response to glucose ingestion, no significant peak was observed in the patients with chronic pancreatitis as a whole, and the CPR response is smaller than that of adult type diabetics in spite of the equal glucose changes. As for the patients with chronic pancreatitis, ΣCPR/ΣBS showed a higher score in those treated by diet than in those who had been treated by insulin.
On the other hand, the group with normal or low values in one factor of the pancreozyminsecretin test showed higher CPR responses than the group with low values in two or three factors of the pancreozymin-secretin test.