Abstract
Summary
1. Chronic hyperglycemia was produced in 90-95% of adult white rats which had been starved for 48-60 hours and then injected subcutaneously with 175 mg of alloxan per kg. Only 25% of rats which had not been starved became hyperglycemic after injection of a similar dose. The hyperglycemia is persistent and relatively benign; few spontaneous recoveries or fatalities occurred within 3-4 months after injection of alloxan.
2. Fed animals which had not developed hyperglycemia following injection of alloxan became susceptible to subsequent injection of another dose if they were previously starved.
3. Feeding or injecting glucose 6 hours before alloxan diminished the susceptibility of the starved animals to alloxan. Glucose administered one hour before alloxan had no protective effect. Epinephrine, administered immediately before alloxan, protected the starved animals. These effects are not directly related to the blood sugar levels existing at the time alloxan is injected.
4. Mixtures of vitamins of the B complex, and ascorbic acid given 6 hours before injecting alloxan failed to protect starved rats from becoming hyperglycemic.
5. Heavier rats require longer periods of starvation in order to achieve a high degree of susceptibility to alloxan.
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