Blood-sugar studies

Abstract

In a recently reported study of certain bloodsugar phenomena McLean and de Wesselow 1 have attempted to explain the nature of the bloodsugar curve obtained after the ingestion of glucose by man. As a result of the comparison of the curves of a normal and of a diabetic individual they suggest that the existence of an alimentary hyperglycemia in the normal awakens and stimulates the glycogenforming mechanism to such activity that not only is the rising hyperglycemia checked but that the bloodsugar concentration is rapidly brought down to normal or below, thus accounting for the rapid rise and fall of blood sugar which is the characteristic response of the normal to the ingestion of glucose. In the diabetic, on the other hand, the glycogenic function is impaired, it does not respond to the stimulus, and the blood sugar continues to rise as long as glucose is absorbed from the intestine.

Staub 1 in Spiro's laboratory, has offered a similar suggestion, the gist of which is that the presence of abundant carbohydrate food in the body stimulates the mechanism which is concerned with carbohydrate metabolism.

In a more recent paper Folin and Berglund 2 have found the hypothesis of McLean and de Wesselow to be superfluous. To them not glycogen formation but simply absorption into the tissues is entirely adequate to account for the fact that sugar does not accumulate in the blood after the ingestion of glucose or other sugars. In arriving at this conclusion they were apparently greatly influenced by their bloodsugar findings after feeding fructose and galactose to normal individuals. The latter is known to be a poor glycogen former, hence, if glycogenformation is an important factor in reducing or preventing alimentary hyperglycemia, then galactose should be much more effective than glucose in raising the blood-sugar level.