Abstract
Summary
Attempts were made to confirm the report of Griffiths that transient diabetes follows the intraperitoneal injection of uric acid into rabbits in which the blood glutathione has been lowered by feeding a diet deficient in cystine and methionine.
In our experiment 21 rabbits were fed the deficient diet. Twelve animals surviving the dietary restriction were injected with uric acid although only 6 had a blood glutathione below 23 mg/100 cc. One of these had a definite transient hyperglycemia for 5 to 6 days after the uric acid injection. No blood sugar changes were seen in the other animals after 24 hours. One rabbit with a blood glutathione of 27 mg/100 cc showed a moderate transient hyperglycemia.
When the blood glutathione was lowered by bleeding instead of diet only one of 4 rabbits injected with uric acid showed a transient hyperglycemia after 24 hours.
It is concluded that if uric acid is diabetogenic under these conditions its action is weak.
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