Peripheral Utilization of Glucose in Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Simultaneous estimations of capillary and venous blood sugar were made in twenty five diabetic patients and sixteen nondiabetic adults during glucose tolerance test. No significant difference in fasting and alimentary hyperglycemic C-V difference was found between these two groups. The utilization index, which denotes the sum of C-V difference in each hour, was almost equal in both groups, but the utilization rate, represented by the ratio of the sum of C-V differences and the sum of capillary blood sugar values in each time, was small in the diabetic group in comparison with the nondiabetic group.
These results suggest that the amount of glucose utilized in peripheral tissues is equal both in diabetics and nondiabetics, but the diabetic condition requires high blood sugar level to utilize a normal amount of glucose.